True Lies
by Aeria
Summary: CHAPTER 50! Everyone: Syd, Vaughn, Jack and Irina go to Australia for an undercover mission where one thing leads to another...
1. The Cell

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
A/N: Yes, I know stupid to try to write a character no one can work out, but I want to try, because I'm bored. So please hate it, love it whatever. I'm not sure I have the characters right, so if you have any suggestions, tell me.  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
Jack walked down the narrow flight of stairs, he hadn't spoken to Irina or Sydney since they'd returned from India and now he was going to thank the woman that had ruined his life. Stepping carefully, he noted the drop it the security compared to what had originally been in place.  
  
Still three guards, but not seven. Cameras still in place, but not all of them recording. Jack wasn't sure if they should be trusting Irina, he wasn't sure if he should have been trusting her, if Sydney should have been, if anyone should ever dare to again. But he had to thank her, she had saved his life, their...his daughter's life not to mention the possibility of air strikes between countries and damning political arguments.  
  
The cell she occupied had been dubbed the Hannibal cell by many, but now it wasn't so bad, she had a bed with a mattress, pillow and blanket and sometime she'd also been given a cushion for her chair and some paper and a pencil. 'Stupid,' he thought, 'She could kill someone with that.'  
  
She was sitting on the ground though. 'Typical.' Her chin was up and her eyes were closed and her chest would rise and fall slowly every ten or so seconds. Jack smiled at this, he remembered when she had taught him to meditate, he'd never bothered to ask her where she had learnt it. He sat down and motioned for the one guard present to leave. Surprisingly he did so without hesitation. Jack frowned, that wasn't a good thing.  
  
The door clicked shut behind him and Jack watched as Irina's eyes snapped open and she smiled slightly, obviously aware it was Jack, before turning to him and standing up. She shrugged slightly before smiling that knowing smile that said 'I knew it.' It put him off and she knew it, and she knew he knew she knew it. So it didn't matter.  
  
Jack nodded to her and simultaneously they took their seats on either side of the glass. His mouth was closed and straight. They sat in silence, staring at each other, trying to wriggle, to tunnel, beneath the layers of defence each had built up. Eventually Jack broke the deafening quiet. "It's horrible weather we're having." He smiled; a statement that demanded an answer but was completely neutral.  
  
She raised an eyebrow and the corner of her mouth twitched up, "I didn't know, what is the day like?" Her hands were on the table, nails that looked to be perfectly manicured but could not have been, settling symetrically at the end of each slim and beautiful finger as she awaited his reply.  
  
Jack wanted to scowl, but it would end the conversation and he had promised himself that morning that he would say thank you. "It's bleak, pouring rain. It was foggy this morning. Smelly and thick, yet still so sticky. Nothing like India."  
  
He was leading off, trying to draw her in, he wanted to talk about India, it was obvious to her but she didn't want to, not yet. "Mmmm. I used to love the rain."  
  
"Used to?" He was being stupid, playing into her hands. Letting her do this to him was suicide, but a form of forgiving, even if he didn't really forgive her. For anything.  
  
"Yes, I haven't seen rain, not proper rain in...three months." She paused, "How's Sydney."  
  
She was completely controlling the conversation, manipulating his questions, his answers, probably his thoughts. He raised an eyebrow, the point of coming was pointless, there was no thanking Irina unless she wanted to be thanked and she didn't. "Syd's fine. She has a meeting with Vaughn today; Sloane wants to send her to Chile." Why was he talking about his job, and Syd's, with a woman who was in CIA custody. Doing this was what caused so many problems twenty years ago. She wouldn't have changed. She couldn't have. "She's still working at her school papers you know."  
  
"Yes, I know," Irina wasn't stupid; she picked up on his change in topic, but didn't mind, she understood. "What's her latest?"  
  
Jack's brow creased, "I have no idea."  
  
Nothing, no come back, no quick retort, just the movement of her hands, her legs as they crossed under the table and then: "You should talk to her. She isn't me, she's our...your daughter. You should go over to her house sometimes, talk to her."  
  
Jack stopped her when his hand rose slightly above the table, "Hang on. You're doing it again, you have no idea what goes on outside these walls."  
  
"And yet I have such a better grasp of Sydney's relationships than you do." She cut across him with a sharp blade. It was true, she knew it was, she understood relationships, it was what her job had been, to be able to manipulate relationships, the understanding of a relationship and to change a person's views. But to be able to do that, she had to have a firm grip on the friendship, the bond that existed. "You know she's in love."  
  
A hand went to her mouth and her eyes widened, a stupid mistake, damn her knowledge for surfacing so quickly. She knows she shouldn't have said something so stupid, so blatant, so direct. He was closing down; she was watching him do it in front of her. His eyebrows lost all meaning as they straightened, his mouth flattened into a fearsome look of indifference and his voice turned completely dull and impassionate. "In a job like hers, there is no room for love."  
  
She laughed a little, such a innocent, throaty laugh, a woman such as she should not have a laugh like that. "It doesn't matter," Irina tried to compensate for the lack of passion in the conversation, her voice filling with venom from past experience. "She is in love," she spoke defiantly, as though her word was the word.  
  
Jack was at full attention, but still closed off, no emotion, no expression. He stared at her, trying not to listen, trying not to respond, but for the first time in twenty years he failed. Looking down at her hands he responded flatly: "I know."  
  
"Do you know who with?"  
  
"Of course," he looked back up catching an expression on Irina's face akin to regret but not. She began to smile; together they spoke, "Agent Vaughn." He had to show he knew something and she would not let him beat her. A draw, stalemate, no one had gotten to that first.  
  
"How upset would the CIA be to find that yet another handler-agent platonic relationship had screwed all protocol known to man and gone into love." She watched him as the fleeting smile left his face. "You don't like him?"  
  
"No, and you obviously didn't like his father." Jack didn't want to stay anymore; it was getting far too far away from where he wanted to be. This was personal, things he didn't want to discuss with a woman renowned for her use of blackmail. He wanted to end this.  
  
Unluckily, Irina saw the ploy and foiled it, "I deserved that. But, still, I am interested in what you find wrong with...Michael."  
  
"You know even Sydney doesn't call him Michael, I don't know why. Yet he insists on calling her 'Syd', even around me." He watched her watching him, the look on her face was far too open to be a fake. "I don't like him, he just isn't..."  
  
"What? Your type?" Irina giggled. He was sure and by the look on her face it was the first giggle she'd had in a couple of years. He shook his head slowly in response. "Ahh," she nodded in revelation, "It's not Agent Vaughn at all. It wouldn't matter if Sydney's handler was the man you thought best on earth, you'd still hate him."  
  
Low and quick, in accusation, was his voice; "Ah, but you knew that." Irina looked at him as he sat waiting for her to tell him that the whole meeting had been set from the start to revolve around Vaughn. She felt herself wanting to own up, as she had in the past, she didn't want to lie about something so trivial to her hus...Jack  
  
"Yes, I did know that. I've met and talked with Agent Vaughn. I think he's sweet." Irina let the word roll of the tongue as though she was talking about some exotic lolly. "Jack, you came her to thank me," he went to interrupt, but didn't as she turned her head slightly to deflect his words, "Don't, I want to know, instead, what you are so afraid of."  
  
Jack smiled at her, shaking his head. 'Still a manipulative witch,' he thought. He sighed and stood. "You don't really want to know, because you already are sure you have my feelings regarding everything including Agent Vaughn worked out. You want my help in matchmaking them. I think you're completely insane." His flat and dull voice began to raise and change from monotone. "Do you know what would happen if you told anyone who knew me that you'd asked me, while in CIA custody, to help you matchmake my Daughter with a man neither I nor you know anything about. To help form a relationship which breaks every rule ever made and could lead to the death of my daughter? If you told someone that I had agreed and had helped you do that? Do you know what they'd say?"  
  
Her face split into a smirk, she had a retort ready, "Yes, they would say I was crazy," an essence of her accent slipped in as her voice rose with passion. "That I had the wrong Jack, but then if I were to tell someone that had first met you ten years ago that you used to write messages, 'All my love, forever and a day' to a woman, they'd tell me I was so drugged up, I should have over dosed by now. Tell me what scares you Jack." 


	2. All About Vaughn

Chapter Two  
  
Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
A/N: Yes, I know stupid to try to write a character no one can work out, but I want to try, because I'm bored. So please hate it, love it whatever. I'm not sure I have the characters right, so if you have any suggestions, tell me. Okay, thank you thank you for the reviews, it's the only reason I'm still writing. This is a short chapter, but if I get reviews quickly, I'll start writing and possibly have the next chapter up in two hours.  
  
  
  
Surprisingly he didn't resist, his voice was still slightly dull but Irina felt the edges being torn away and the passion hissing out; "I'll tell you what scares me Irina. The possibility that a relationship with Agent Vaughn would lead to the end of her career as a double agent, not to mention the end of her life and the take down of SD-6 and the Alliance." Irina inclined her head slightly to the left and let a soft murmur of agreement escape her lips. "I don't like the idea of a relationship with her handler because it wouldn't be normal, her relationships, the one thing left in her life that is still, at least superficially, normal, would suddenly become complex, unallowed and abnormal."  
  
Irina sat back a bit in her chair, stretching her fingers against the cold surface. She cocked her head and looked at Jack, her eyebrows curved into a look of disbelief. "No, no, there's more to it than that. What aren't you telling me?"  
  
It was eerie how persuasive she could be, the idea of spilling everything on the floor in the hope that she could piece the impossible puzzle together for him was almost ... seductive. It was unlikely that she was ever going to be released, and somehow she was appearing trustworthy. Jack shook his head like a wet dog trying to get the water out from between his ears. "No, the fact that she could be killed, that this kind of love," he cleared his throat, his voice suddenly hoarse. "I don't want her pursuing a relationship in an already overly emotional work place. I'm her father and that's my view."  
  
"But I'm her mother and I don't agree." She paused. Jack didn't answer waiting as Irina watched him intently across the table and through the glass. He slowly closed his mouth, clamping his lips down and waited for her to say something, anything in response.  
  
She stood up, crossing her arms as though she was cold. Irina wandered around the room pretending to admire the brick work, her bed, the ground, the ceiling that was up high enough that she would never be able to get to the single light. 'He's quite nice, you know. Sharp mind, quick, gets what he wants, gets results. Doesn't stuff around." She stopped waiting to see if he would disagree with what she knew to be true. "He has a good sense of humour." She stopped knowing he would cut across her if she didn't give him time to speak.  
  
"People in his line of work shouldn't have a sense of humour, ever. It could cause the deaths of many people." Jack was grasping at straws. Irina knew that he wanted to win this argument; she also knew that he was yet to tell her his real reason. So she opted to just exhaust everything that he chose to throw at her in his defence.  
  
"I have a sense of humour," she said, "You have a sense of humour and," she rose her voice as she could tell he was about to speak. "Don't you dare deny it. You remember the toaster, you used to be very funny and you were working at the CIA then, you still have your moments, little smart-ased come backs with a twist of fun. You have a quick tongue." Her voice faltered and she grinning, almost. "And we're considered the best spies there are.  
  
"Michael's good looking, far too young for me," she looked around in time to catch Jack smiling, he expression changed when he realised how easily he'd been caught. His features moulding until he was simply glaring back at her rueful smile. "You can't deny that he is quite a babe." Jack smiled again in spite of himself, the whole situation was ironic, he was talking to his daughter's mother as thought Sydney was going out with some Jock that was ten years older than her. He shook his head and turned his attention back to Irina, desperately trying to act as though he should have been.  
  
"Sydney would be nuts not to be attracted to such a handsome young man. He oozes," the word rolled around the room playfully, "sex appeal." She was, by now, purposely forcing her accent into each and every one of her words, she wasn't sure why, but she was, hoping that they would somehow help her to weasel her way through the foggy lies to the heart of the issue.  
  
"Tell me what you're really scared of. Stop making all of this shit up, I'm not buying." Her directness made Jack frown but he figured talking to someone the CIA would soon deem unreliable for information about her own family wouldn't really hurt.  
  
Irina turned from the brick she was watching and stalked back to the glass window. She kicked the chair to the side, not in anger but with an underlying frustration that could have been real or false. None the less, it was definitely passionate. She placed her hands on either side of her body, leaning fully on the brown surface and glared down at Jack with question and frustration mirrored in her brown eyes.  
  
"You don't know?" Jack's voice was at a lower pitch but a higher decibel and somehow fuller, like she remembered it. "I am scared, out of my wits sometimes, for Sydney. What if it doesn't last, what if he cheats on her," Irina's eyes lit up with realisation, the brown glinting into a lighter bronze but Jack didn't notice, still talking. "What if he gets killed or lost or he just disappears for no real reason?"  
  
She picked her chair back up and placed it in front of the window. Softly, her voice came out as she slid back down into a slumped position, almost in a whisper, her words a statement not a question, "What if he's a double agent for someone else? What if he fakes his own death and disappears leaving her wondering for years until the CIA finally work it out, he wasn't CIA and he wasn't really in love." 


	3. Fire

Chapter Three  
  
Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
A/N: Yes, I know stupid to try to write a character no one can work out, but I want to try, because I'm bored. So please hate it, love it whatever. I'm not sure I have the characters right, so if you have any suggestions, tell me. Okay, thank you thank you for the reviews, it's the only reason I'm still writing. This is a short chapter, but if I get reviews quickly, I'll start writing and possibly have the next chapter up in two hours.  
  
"Can you blame me?" he was blunt, to the point, he'd stopped playing games by now and was just talking, unrestrained, but still masked.  
  
"No, not really. But what I did shouldn't mean the end of something that could be so good. For both of them. I think what you're doing is unfair." She looked down, allowing her hair to fall, forming a curtain around her face, shielding her face from prying eyes. Taking a shaky breath she continued, "You know it would do her good."  
  
"No I don't," dull, heartless.  
  
"It's a fact," she said, her voice more like Sydney's than it should have been. "You know you were a better agent when we were married. You wanted to work harder, to get home quicker, to get things right."  
  
An explosion that rattled the glass: "We were never married Irina, that wasn't you."  
  
She nodded his voice still resounding off the walls as he glared at her, his lips pursed in self hatred and contempt for her. "This isn't about Vaughn really." She paused, taking her time in picking her words, her eyes still down-turned but her hands moving to tuck her hair up behind her ears in a very Sydney-like way. "Tell me about Laura. Tell me what you loved about her."  
  
Jack's features changed quickly, in the briefest second his face was naked, the confusion, pain and loss all openly unmasked. But then they were covered, still Irina had seen them and it was tugging at her, somewhere inside, hard sharp pulls overlying a growing pain. Jack looked at her in what he thought appeared as pure disgust but unluckily came out as though he had just eaten something tasting similar to tar.  
  
He shook his head before telling her in a low, growling voice, acting as though he wasn't scared of her, as though he didn't care what she knew. "I loved her for the person she pretended to be," Irina's eyes came up and looked at him in raw perplexity, for some reason she resolved not to hide her confusion over his choice in words, so he continued.  
  
"She was ambitious, like me, she knew what she wanted and she got it. Laura was different to most of the women around she was obsessive which only added to her ambition, if she wanted something and she couldn't get it, she wouldn't stop trying. Ever." Jack looked up and saw Irina smiling a little, as though she was reminiscing.  
  
Again he had to wonder why he was acting so unlike what other people saw of him, more like he had acted twenty years ago. But he continued none the less, "She was impulsive, she didn't question things, did them because she felt like it. This clashed with my own behaviour, which," he paused and looked up in a withdrawn sort of way, "Well, it excited me. Laura was gorgeous," he was gone now, Irina knew he wasn't even aware of her listening, it was a type of recollection, probably about something he hadn't thought of for years.  
  
"Beautiful but intelligent at the same time. Something hard to find. Her mind was fast, faster than mine. She could always outsmart me and I never, ever won a game of scrabble or monopoly from her. Something no one at work would believe. But it's true." He stared at her hands through the window.  
  
"You won monopoly once." Irina wanted to kick herself for interrupting but something in her had forced her to do it. Now he was looking at her like a deer caught in an on coming car's headlights. "You did. We were playing one night over wine, on the floor in the lounge. Sydney was asleep and."  
  
He cut across her, interrupting her again, something her employees had been killed for. "I shouldn't have won. I cheated. Sydney was crying and you left for a minute. I stole money from the bank."  
  
Her mouth broke into a smile that spread across her entire face, causing her eyes to glitter and her cheeks to become full and rosier. "Good to see that both of us made mistakes. Go on, about Laura, you were saying she was higher than you intellectually."  
  
"I was not, she was simply quicker than me," he couldn't help a small smile to escape until once again he found himself wanting to tell her everything. "She was strong, back then, not many women were as strong as you." Irina picked up that he was now saying 'you' instead of 'her'. "We used to play fight on the bed. So incredibly not me," he frowned in disbelief as he recalled what he had once been. "She could take me on; you'd beat me sometimes, your strength winning out.  
  
"Laura, she was strong, but at the same time she was somehow," he looked up, probing for the right word, "graceful and elegant. She was always so fluent." Irina ducked her head a little, wanting to see his face but unable to as he had suddenly turned back to looking at the ground. "I don't know though, all of these character traits, they were all just extras, I loved Laura because she was untamed, a challenge. She was so wild and carefree and so unlike the girls in the office that would flirt with me because of my reputation. Back then I was proud of my work and happy to have them flirt, but none were going to keep me challenged.  
  
"But Laura, Laura was different. You were intense and passionate." Laura held my gaze, never looked away. She had fire; that was what I loved about her." It was a grand speech and more like the Jack Irina had known than anything he had done since she had returned.  
  
She nodded slightly, bringing his eyes back up to hers. Biting her lip she pressed on in her interegation, "What about me? Who do you think I am?"  
  
He looked at her. "Why do you bother to ask? You know my answer." The corner of his mouth turned down in distaste.  
  
"Do I?" She blinked and adopted a cold look of indifference to his answer.  
  
"I think you are a murdering, lying, black-mailing bitch." Jack swallowed what he was going to put on the end when he thought he heard the sound of an intake of air too fast to be a normal breath.  
  
Irina nodded, sadly almost. "Right. But what about me? My personality? Not based on my...past actions."  
  
"You expect me to be completely honest?" Jack almost laughed at the idea of this woman's self-centred assumption. But all she would do in response was shrug. He sighed, throwing caution to the wind in the hope of escaping this conversation by shocking her. He told the truth: "I think you are highly motivated, compulsive, far too smart for your own good, tough, powerful, refined, though that might be fake," she laughed a little as his guess, the sudden interruption putting him off for a moment. "You appear to be beautiful but someone in your position has that illusion, you are of course mysterious, overly zealous and quick possibly the most evil woman I have ever met."  
  
Her face went blank, quickly slipping into an almost neutral look before she came back to life with a number of blinks and a smirk that forced Jack's eyes into slits of caution. "The last bit, you don't believe that. And you shouldn't, I don't think it's true. How am I different from Laura?"  
  
The penny dropped, he'd anticipated an attack like this, the exact question had even crossed his mind, but faced with it he was stuck, because he had no false answer ready, he would, again, tell the truth, something he wasn't used to doing. Not to anyone.  
  
"You're stronger, physically and mentally. Far more manipulative, far worse and the enemy. It doesn't matter; I'm not stupid enough to fall in love again. I don't think I was ever in love, I couldn't have been really; it was all an illusion." He gulped, he was unravelling, his own thoughts were distorting into something, some ultimate truth he didn't want to know. He wished he could just get up and leave but knew that if he did, Irina would be of little use to the CIA from then on. She wasn't going to co- operate unless he allowed her to and to leave right now would be saying that they had nothing left to talk about.  
  
He continued to stare at her, her brows creased, hard, small lines, a result of both age and torment, appeared on her forehead and she turned slowly in her chair to face a wall again, her face in perfect profile for Jack to watch. She visibly swallowed, as though she was having trouble keeping her composure. Jack continued to watch as she stood up and walked again to the back wall.  
  
Swallowing again, now sure that Jack couldn't see her, Irina put a hand against the wall and put some of her weight against it. She tried to blink away the salty water that she felt pooling in her eyes her only result being two drops, full, round and large, dripping precariously down her cheeks: undoubtedly leaving trails. She hoped that Jack wasn't watching as they continued to flow, one after the other until the weight became too much and they began to fall to the hard cement floor.  
  
Irina wasn't used to loosing it like this, she rarely cried and until a couple of weeks ago it had always been because the situation called for it. And now, her daughter and her ex-husband were pulling them from her, one after the other, quickly and accidentally. Neither of them even realised the effect they were having and she couldn't really explain it.  
  
Her inference that Jack hadn't noticed was proved a couple of seconds latter when she heard his chair scrap back from the window across the floor and his body move into a standing position. As discrete as she could possibly be, Irina lifted a hand to her face and wiped the tears away roughly before dragging her hand up through her hair, pulling at the knots that were gathering as the day proceeded.  
  
"You, only walk away when you aren't sure of your self. I know that, for sure. So, I'm forced to come to the conclusion that you're not exactly sure of what I'm talking about: you don't understand love." He nodded behind her, Irina's body still relying on the one hand for support as he continued his assault. "But, then, I don't know why I ever believed that you could. You don't have a bone of good will, a cell of justice. Nothing, you hate everyone, everything so of course when someone talks about love you're going to either show you don't understand or turn away." His voice was loud, shaking a little, but thunder upon her ears.  
  
She wasn't sure why, but it was too loud to bear. The attack unfair as she hadn't expected it and so perhaps he was right. The only times she ever faltered was when love was involved and she didn't fully understand it. But he had no right in saying that. Mad at herself and at Jack she turned around and stalked back to the window with long, measured strides. "You can't attack me like that."  
  
"I can, because you're the bad guy and I'm the good guy, you're in a cell and I'm a free man. So I can say exactly what I want." He was completely unlike he had been for the past twenty years, full of passion, fire and it was exciting.  
  
"This is America; I can say what I want as well. You are an ill- tempered, grumpy old man with no ambition other than to wreak revenge on the woman that ruined your life. You haven't been anything since I left and you'll never be anything again." She was shouting at him, her hands once again on either side of the brown surface as she let the words flow out of her mouth without bothering to check them for basis, reason or fact.  
  
He stared back for a moment. "What I had with you," his voice rose even louder as she tried to over ride him but failed as he got even more upset. "What I had with you wasn't real. Anything real is more than something fake."  
  
"Oh no, no that's not the problem. I'm back now and you can't see the difference," her voice dropped into a whisper as she went in for the kill. "You loved Laura Bristow and now a woman who looks just like her and acts very much the same is back and it's your job to hate her. But you can't; you still can't tell the difference."  
  
"That is not it," louder, impossibly louder. "I can tell the difference, a million things to distinguish." He looked at her, his face younger for a moment as his passion continued to grow. "I know it's you."  
  
She wanted to grab him, to rip him apart just to find the answer to the question. "Then what?"  
  
"I know who you used to be, I can guess who you are right now. I know," his voice rose and fell through out the speech. "I know that you're not Laura but somehow I want you." The damage was done; he may as well, say it properly, "More than ever."  
  
A look of unrefined shock crossed both faces simultaneously and each slumped back in their chairs with looks of confusion, frustration, uncertainty jumping from one side of the glass to the other. Irina opened her mouth to speak and her voice came out as a hollow rasp. 


	4. Naked

Chapter Four  
  
Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
A/N: Yes, I know stupid to try to write a character no one can work out, but I want to try, because I'm bored. So please hate it, love it whatever. I'm not sure I have the characters right, so if you have any suggestions, tell me. Okay, is it getting better or worse and the only way you'll get more is if you keep reviewing so well.  
  
Oh and go and read my other story, Wish List, and review that too.  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
She swallowed and would have said something if the door hadn't creaked open, the voice of the guard drifted through, "Go ahead sir."  
  
Vaughn walked into the room and nodded to Jack, his grey business suit looking awkward on him, his hands shoved deep in the pockets. Quickly, the tension was covered by the pair along with the masks that automatically slithered into place; Jack's eyes falling down before rising, the look of indifference back, while Irina's usual smug and secretive smile and slitted eyes took over her features where seconds before her eyes had been round and partially uncovered and her smile had been real.  
  
Vaughn had no idea that anything had happened. "It's good that you're here," he spoke to jack, "Because I want you to hear what I have to say to the prisoner."  
  
Jack stood up and shook his head, "I'm sorry, Agent Vaughn, I was just leaving."  
  
Vaughn lifted a hand up and stopped Jack from departing, "Please, this will take only a minute." Reluctantly Jack sat back down. "What is it you want with her?"  
  
"I came," Vaughn directed his attention back to Irina, her eyes shifting to his from where they had been staring, as she carefully scrutinised the prior conversation, picking it apart with a thin needle. "I came, to say thank you."  
  
Jack raised an eyebrow as he realised that Vaughn had just achieved something he had been unable to. "You saved Sydney and many others' lives last week, and I have to thank you for that. I hear that you did it in a...round about way, but you did do it and I want you to understand that it is appreciated."  
  
Irina nodded to him, her mind split between the present conversation and the exchange of words with Jack. She watched as Vaughn looked down at his hands, obviously not finished with her.  
  
"I'd also like to point out that Sydney looks to you for help, advice, and while this might not be highly intelligent of her, she still insists on doing it. I want you to know that she isn't doing it for your benefit or because someone if telling her to. She does it because she believes you can help."  
  
Vaughn looked to Jack, trying to see what he was thinking but his offensive glare was stronger than usual today and he didn't look as though he wanted to talk. Irina continued to listen silently.  
  
"Irina, I really think you should take this seriously..."  
  
Irina cut across him,"I take everything anyone says seriously." She glanced at Jack, "Please go on. I'm listening."  
  
"Everyone can see the similarities in looks between you and Sydney, it is adding to this...bond between you two. What I'm worried about is that you seem to think alike as well. You react similarly, talk in the same way, have similar tastes as far as I've seen."  
  
He looked at Jack who seemed to be off somewhere else, something he didn't often do was tune out and Vaughn filed the fact away for later study, "I mean you have got to agree with me on this, they are very alike," he said to Jack. Vaughn doubted he would agree and was shocked when he responded with a short and sharp nod. He quickly continued: his eyes still focused on Jack, "Right, and this might all seem irrelevant to you, but it is only strengthening this...this whole ideal Sydney has of you."  
  
"What exactly do you want me to do?" Irina said, her voice regaining its normal composure, no sign of the rasp left.  
  
Vaughn shook his head and turned back to her, "Nothing, I just want you to know what's going on."  
  
"That's very sweet of you." Irina's eyes panned over to Jack and locked. "It's nice to have someone who opens up and lets their feelings show. Go on."  
  
"I like Sydney," he looked at Jack whose eyes had swiftly moved and were now boring into his head, his brows low in a glower. "I mean, I respect her," Irina allowed a small laugh to escape her lips, bringing Vaughn's attention back to her. "I do, she's a fantastic agent and person. And she respects you, whether this is because you are her mother or because you deserve it I can't say, but she does."  
  
Jack's voice made Irina jump ever so slightly that no one but she noticed, it rattled her. "How do you know all of this?"  
  
Vaughn stared at him for a moment, "She talks to me about it, and I can tell, she wants to tell me but something or someone keeps stopping her." Jack nodded but looked unhappy.  
  
"So, she respects you, I respect her, and I find myself wanting to respect you. You haven't put a foot wrong in the past three...four months, and I just think that you should know that I am beginning to respect you." He paused, the whole thing had come out badly and he knew he'd be dead if looks could kill and Jack would most probably be up for murder in the first. "Now, this might upset you Jack as we all know your feelings when it comes to Irina."  
  
"At least we all think we know your feelings when it comes to me, they might, of course, just be some elaborate façade you put on to hide something else." Irina interrupted Vaughn and started talking to Jack, her voice slightly slicker than it should have been.  
  
Vaughn shook his head, "What I was trying to say is that while you might not want me to, I am beginning to trust her. I'm actually starting to like you, you saved Sydney when you didn't have to and you have co-operated fully, I like your way of thinking and if you," he turned to Jack, "Don't like it, then, I'm sorry. If this is a mistake, I take full responsibility for myself."  
  
Vaughn shrugged at both of them as his speech came to an end. Jack watched Irina as she smiled to herself, either in happiness or in pride for getting yet another man wrapped around her finger. Vaughn's forehead creased as he realised neither was really paying him much attention and abruptly he picked up on the subtle, but present, tension hanging in the air. "Hey, did I interrupt anything?"  
  
"No," Jack's answer was too quick for it to be the truth and Vaughn's brow deepened. Irina just smiled enigmatically.  
  
"Agent Vaughn, can I call you Michael," Vaughn nodded before he could stop himself, "Michael, I realise that you coming here must have taken a lot of courage and saying thank you would have been very hard considering how much you believe you should hate me. I appreciate it."  
  
Irina's eyes slid like a very deadly snake to Jack and Vaughn's followed her gaze. "I think the fact that you could manage the gesture is positive and I am very happy that you can find it in your heart to admit you are beginning to like me. Many other people wouldn't be able to do it unless they were....under intense pressure." Irina had to grin, she was having fun and the fact that Jack's eyes were narrower than ever before was just more fun to watch.  
  
"The fact that you came here for another reason does dim the affection a little though." Irina turned back to Vaughn, leaving Jack to regain his composure. "I think you should go after Sydney. But first, I want you to hear something." Irina had by now totally forgotten about Jack, the story she was about to tell, something she wanted to desperately do.  
  
"Your father was killed in the building in India I was standing in last week. I did pull the trigger, but I never meant for it to kill William." Vaughn stood confused and on edge. "I had gotten a hold of a gun and time alone with Cuvee, totally alone. I was joking around with him, I picked the gun up; I wanted him to die. I thought it would go off without a hitch. He though I was stuffing around and I figured that was fine until a nock at door, he opened it, I'd run out of time. I pulled the trigger without bothering to look up from the floor."  
  
Vaughn stared at her. "Your father was the man at the door; Cuvee thought I was sick enough to kill someone just for a laugh. He grabbed him and used him as a shield." Irina looked down, her eyes welling up, again, at the memory. "Even after he'd realised I had in fact taken the shot, he though it was a joke.  
  
"It was horrible, I'd killed an innocent prisoner and he thought it was a joke, I played along after that, I had lost my chance. I never got another one." She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. I understand if you don't believe me."  
  
Vaughn's gaze had gone steely, his eyes turning to the colour of ivy and his forehead covered in creases. He thought for a minute, the time seeming endless to Irina. "I believe you, I don't know why, but I do. And I forgive you for your mistake."  
  
Jack raised his head and looked unbelievingly at Vaughn. Irina looked up and smiled at him, a tear falling down the side of her cheek and onto the surface. Vaughn saw it and felt his lips turning up as he realised what had just happened. "Thank you," she whispered.  
  
"What did you mean about going after Sydney?" he asked with some hesitation but an edge of curiosity. Vaughn purposely changing the subject, the loss of his father still a subject that stung viciously but not so much, now that he knew how.  
  
Irina couldn't help but smile, her tears wiped away and her mind back in control of her emotions. She didn't feel all that threatened by the knowledge that Vaughn now had the smallest amount of awareness of her own emotions. Jack just continued to stare at Vaughn who had for some reason or another decided to trust Irina.  
  
"I think you should go after her, chase her down. You love her and she loves you..." The word was awkward off her tongue and landed on both men's ears with an effect of severe shock. Jack looked at his ex-wife as though she were mad while Vaughn turned his head enough so that there was no way he could meet Jack's eyes.  
  
The beginning of doubt already rising in his mind, he still wasn't sure enough of Sydney's true feelings to pursue this. Catching this, Irina spoke, "She does love you, you know." Irina had the look of a mother and Jack eyes wandered from face to face.  
  
Unluckily Vaughn's head moved slightly at that and he found himself with his eyes locked with Jack's. He stuttered, "I really, don't know what she's talking about."  
  
Jack hesitated, looking to Irina. Vaughn had his eyes glued to Jack and as her eyes darted around to meet Jacks, he found them naked, uncovered, completely open, her mind exposed, thoughts bare, she was leaving herself utterly unprotected.  
  
The last time he'd seen those brown eyes completely unprotected was never. Jack had always thought that there was something unsaid, reserved for Laura only when she had been posing as his wife, but now, nothing. It was scary, shocking and breath-taking at the same time. But it was what he saw that shocked him the most; it was a lost sort of pleading, a beseeching that was real, from the heart, a demand for him to agree and at the edges everything else, a lost, scared look accompanied by an intelligence almost inhuman and passion greater than any he had ever seen.  
  
He looked at her face, taking in the tear stain that was still present due to the rebel tear from moments before. He swallowed, hoping to God that he was not about to make a huge mistake. He turned back to Vaughn who was still happily unaware of the situation. Irina watched him like a hawk, her defences slipping back to where they had peacefully sat for the past thirty- something years.  
  
Jack glanced back to Irina before nodding, slowly at first but then quickly and defiantly. "While I don't exactly know how you plan on pulling this off, Irina's right, again. Go..."  
  
Vaughn looked almost horrified at Jack's change in behaviour, he looked younger, he looked almost happy. Vaughn tried to remember how much beer he'd had that day and when he came up with nothing, he nodded to Irina who simply smiled at him and left.  
  
Jack remained in the seat while Irina looked at her hands. She suddenly regretted allowing Jack to see her so visibly; he was the one man who wanted revenge on her the most and she no longer had anything to keep from him. She watched him with the corner of her eye as he stood gradually, and began to wander around the room, still with his eyes on her. She carefully erected another line of defence, her eyes dimming until they were dark and completely unreadable.  
  
Jack stopped and looked down at her properly, aware of the guard she was trying to establish. He looked for one of her few buttons and pressed it, "Why did you do that?"  
  
"He likes her, they'd be good together," completely flat and emotionless, nothing escaping with her words.  
  
"I mean why did you let me see?" Jack was careful of what he said, not wanting to startle her, but still trying to keep her on edge.  
  
"Because, Sydney's happiness is worth more than mine." Irina gulped, realising that now that she'd let him in, she had very little chance of keeping him out, sharing her mind was like a drug and just a second's try had her addicted. "You can get me now, you've seen where my weaknesses lie, but at least my daughter will be happy."  
  
Jack noticed the drop of fire mixed in with the monotone she had employed. "I don't think I'll consider doing that," he spoke slowly; "I have no reason to."  
  
Irina let a peal of laughter flow from her lips, the regret building like a hurricane within her mind, all of her defences instantaneously failing, leaving her mind open once again. "You have every reason to, or, have you decided to forgive me?"  
  
Jack's eyes narrowed as she looked down, her eyes out of sight. "Look at me."  
  
"No," Irina was strict, an edge of fear gripping her voice. "No, I don't think I should." Suddenly sounding so helpless that even Jack was finding it hard to doubt her honesty.  
  
"Please."  
  
She shook her head, laughing almost hysterically, "No, no you shouldn't have to see me like this, it's unfair. I mean, look at what I have you acting like already, all nice, passionate, you haven't been like that for twenty years, I hate what I'm doing to you."  
  
Jack, had he been on the other side of the glass, would have forced her to look up, but as it was he had no way of compelling her to look anywhere. He ran her words back again and found a truth that he wanted desperately to voice, "You say you hate what you're doing to me?" she nodded almost unnoticeably, "Where as I love it."  
  
Irina's brown eyes were suddenly level with his and the deep brown pools were as naked as they had ever been before.  
  
Haha, review and you'll get more and go check my other story. Wish List 


	5. Can I come?

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
A/N: okay, fifth chapter, I have to warn you all that this will be my second last chapter until Thursday morning as I am going away. But, if you review extra well, you never know where I might find a computer, so enjoy and keep R&R  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
Chapter Five  
  
"You like this?" her eyes told him she was candidly confused. "What I'm doing to you?" Jack realised why she'd never let him see in; her eyes were windows to her soul. Many times people he knew had used the phrase and he had wondered what they had meant but now he found himself in a situation where he was sure he would be able to communicate with this woman solely through her eyes.  
  
"I do," he replied simply. "It's not what I've become, it's what I used to be and I liked him." He smiled at her, though awkwardly, his mouth having only smirked and frowned in the past years.  
  
She watched him, anxiously trying to see what he meant, what he was really thinking, her searching must have been obvious to him because his brows lifted slightly, making his eyes fuller and more visible before they dropped back to their normal position. She stuttered for the first time in her adult life, "Where...where do we go from here?"  
  
Jack's smile turned to a frown though not one directed at her but one of puzzlement. "I don't know, but I think we should keep whatever this," he motioned with his hands, something he never did, to thin air, "Is from everyone. I still don't think I should trust you."  
  
Jack shrugged apologetically and the unexpected hurt that Irina was feeling was lessened, "You do trust me though," he nodded sharply and sincerely, "You just don't want to?"  
  
He smiled at her, unable to explain himself better. He looked up and opened his mouth to speak. Fatefully, his pager chose to beep at that exact second. He looked at Irina after glancing down at it. "I have to go."  
  
All she could do was nod in answer to his unspoken 'Good bye'. He looked at her a second longer than necessary before leaving Irina to wander the room, a large smile upon her lips and her defences re-erected though not as strong nor as many as before.  
  
Jack walked down the street to his car, a baffled look of awe firmly on his face. He silently thanked God that he ran into no one he knew as he certainly wasn't prepared to talk to anyone.  
  
Climbing into his lovely, SD-6 black car, Jack made for the warehouse, his foot half heartedly pushing down on the acceleration peddle as he franticly tried to resume his normal composure. Kendall was going to be present and quite possibly others were too and he did not want to wander in there with his mind somewhere else.  
  
The message had been 911 so Jack automatically presumed that he was about to be sent on yet another mission. Pulling into the quadrangle he was dismayed to find three cars already parked. One he knew to be Kendall's, another Vaughn's and the last his daughter's.  
  
With one last try at regaining his usual stance, Jack walked directly through to the cage where the trio stood waiting for him. Vaughn looked up before looking back down at his hands, Sydney smiled brightly; always the one to pursue the happy family and Kendall just scowled.  
  
"Jack, nice to see you made it," Kendall took a poke at Jack as he himself had been busy at home and the fact that he had been standing around, looking at the grey walls for over twenty minutes hadn't made him a happy chap. Jack could only nod to him. "We need to send all three of you to Australia to recover a Rambaldi artefact we recently became aware of. It is a small wooden box, supposedly un-rotted and completely intact. Inside that box is a written manuscript of Rambaldi's prophesised life, written by Rambaldi. You all understand why we need this."  
  
Vaughn nodded though he was having trouble concentrating, a man who had changed completely since yesterday and then changed back was standing beside him and he could do little but stare. Why Jack Bristow had decided to not only encourage the pursuit of his daughter that would result in an unallowed relationship, but had also done it in front of a woman who was supposed to be his greatest Nemesis was going to be question Vaughn worked at for days to come.  
  
Sydney on the other hand was quick with the math and realised that a trip to Australia would last at least three days considering the journey there alone would be almost twenty hours. "Australia is a long way."  
  
"I am aware, Agent Bristow, of Australia's geographical placing, I cannot move the Rambaldi artefact closer and I believe that the three of you are the best agents for the job."  
  
Sydney nodded while Jack felt what he believed to be the unwarranted feeling of fatherly protection. He sincerely felt as though he should be jumping in and saying something in defence to Kendall. All he could say though was, "When do we leave?"  
  
"I'll brief you through a computer once you are on the plane. So you are to leave as soon as you have visited Derevko." Kendall expected Jack to object to this and so continued quickly, "Just to check if she has anything to add. It is Rambaldi after all and she has proved useful in the past."  
  
They all nodded and turned to leave, "We all take different roots and meet at the cell in twenty minutes," Kendall added.  
  
Vaughn sat in the front of his car waiting for Sydney to pull out in front of him; he'd arrived shortly after Kendall at the warehouse and had had no chance to say anything to Sydney at all. He would have to wait this out, he thought, both upset and relieved at the same time. His car moved slowly out and took a left after Sydney chose to turn right. Vaughn tried to concentrate on the direction he was heading in so that he would, in the end, arrive at Irina's cell and not in some foreign state.  
  
He had headed home after his run in with Jack at Irina's cell but had barely gotten in the door when his pager had gone off signalling a meeting with Kendall. Throughout the time he had been able, he had relived the conversation in his mind, the shock of Jack agreeing still incomprehensible to him. Perhaps, Irina would have a positive effect on Jack, Vaughn thought. Then realising what he had contemplated he bit his lip in guilt.  
  
Still, it was weird that Jack had been so unbelievably un...Jack around Irina. He had looked younger and he had told Vaughn, in one way or another, to go after Sydney because he agreed with Irina that they loved each other and that was that. Vaughn was frantic over whether this was a good or bad thing. Wiping his mind of all things, Vaughn turned the radio on and listened to the completely meaningless song that was playing, trying, but not really succeeding, to forget everything strange about his puzzling encounter.  
  
Sydney pulled up two blocks from the cell and made her way to the underground chamber on auto-pilot, the routine to gain access to her mother's sect now second nature. She hoped that her mom would be able to help, if not only for her own sake but also for her mom's. Anything she could add would be valuable and give the CIA reason enough not to put her back up for death penalty.  
  
Sydney wandered down the corridor and nodded to the guard who left her alone with her mother who turned and smiled broadly at her daughter as she felt her presence. Irina looked around to see if anyone else was present and when she found that no one was she took a seat, motioning for Sydney to do the same.  
  
Sydney's first question was, "What?"  
  
Irina looked confused and shook her head to signal she didn't know what the question meant, "What do you mean 'what'?"  
  
"You look different," Irina's first thought was that her defences had fallen again and that Sydney was seeing straight through to the pride she kept so well hidden. But then she realised that she must be wrong and continued to remain confused. "No, you just look...different, I don't know, um, just, more alive." Sydney shook her head as she failed to find a word to describe what she was seeing or sensing altered.  
  
"I don't know why," Irina lied easily but a firm punch of guilt hit her in the stomach seconds later. "Is there a special reason for you being here?" Irina hadn't seen her daughter since they'd returned from the mission to India  
  
"Yes," Irina smiled sadly, "Vaughn, dad and I are going to Australia. After a Rambaldi artefact. Kendall wants to see if you have anything to help us. But I'm not actually supposed to talk about it until he gets here. Sorry." Sydney stood up and moved away.  
  
Irina smiled lightly, everything still fake, her inability to mix real and fake resulting in an all fake exterior. "I won't tell him." At that moment footsteps were heard coming down the hall and Irina become conscious of the mass of discomfit and tension that would begin to amount with in the room as soon as Jack or Vaughn arrived. Preparing for the worst, she bit her lip and settled for a numb look of indifference.  
  
Kendall appeared and sighed when he found only Sydney present, he was ready to complain when quick, direct footsteps became apparent,. And another pair behind that. Irina sighed and flexed her shoulders back in anticipation.  
  
Vaughn rounded the corner first, Jack close behind, both locked eyes with Irina and a quick look of awareness was shared, each person for a different reason. This didn't get past Sydney unnoticed but skimmed past an apparently overworked and over-payed Kendall. Irina just went back to looking at her hands as she felt Jack tear her defences down. This was going to be a problem. Or a blessing.  
  
"Right, Derevko," she looked up, careful to avoid all eyes but Kendall's and raised an eyebrow. "I am sending Agent Bristow, Agent Vaughn and Agent Bristow to Victoria, Australia to recover a Rambaldi artefact known as the Dury Box. The reason I've bothered to come here, is to see if you have anything to add..."  
  
Irina just looked at him with a look of contempt upon her features. "Can I come?" Sydney's eyes brightened at the idea but she covered it quickly when she saw Jack swinging around to stare at Irina with an unexpected look of query and interest mixed together. Irina continued to stare at Kendall.  
  
"You must be joking," Irina shook her head. "Why would we dream of letting you out, again?" Kendall was actually considering this, Jack could tell by the faint flicker of interest in the man's voice.  
  
"Well, I believe that I proved useful on the last mission, we work well together," Irina couldn't help but glance at Jack, her gaze stopping short of his face content to watch his shoulders for a reaction. "I did save both Agent Bristow and Agent Bristow several times and while I had the chance to betray them quite easily, I did not."  
  
Kendall interjected, "While this is all great, they took you in the first place because you knew the area. What are you offering this time?"  
  
"The area, south east Victoria, Belgrave, Selby, Kallista I expect. That's where they are going?" Kendall nodded, rattled that she knew his plan before anyone else. "I was preparing to infiltrate the house you speak of four years ago, I had been studying the area for at least half a year but the plan fell through and I was sent to Thailand instead."  
  
Kendall looked at Jack who raised an eyebrow as if he believed the decision to be up to Kendall. After a moment's internal deliberation Kendall spoke, "I'll make some calls; you're going." Irina grinned at his back as he turned and headed for the corridor, pulling out his cell.  
  
Jack stared at the ground while Vaughn looked up, Sydney scrutinising them with a look of bemusement on her face. She had no idea what was up with everyone, but both her father and Vaughn were acting surprisingly out of character. Her eyes slitted as she tried to work it out but found, to her consternation, that she could get no answer.  
  
She opted to look to her mother who she found looking perfectly normal and watching her, she smiled at her and leaned towards the window. "I don't suppose you know what's going on," she motioned to the two men who were by now looking at her trying to hear what she was whispering. Irina couldn't help but feel good that her relationship with Sydney had seemingly blossomed since India,  
  
Sydney really did trust her and was blatantly trying to have a normal relationship. In response, Irina adopted a serious tone and replied, "I know what's going on, but I promised not to tell." It was the truth and it felt nice to be able to say something completely honest to her daughter. Jack and Vaughn continued to lean closer as they tried to hear what was going on. "I think they're worried that I will tell."  
  
She spoke loud enough to be heard by all and looking up she caught Vaughn's eye and had to laugh when he looked down immediately, when she accidentally locked eyes with Jack's however, it was not so easy. He held her gaze with an edge of humour but also with warning question, demanding she did nothing with Sydney that he knew not of. Irina on the other hand allowed her face to shift into the truth this time without resistance and felt the humour of the situation shinning through, Jack watched her carefully before turning away and waiting for Kendall.  
  
"She can go," he fiddled with the door and allowed Irina to walk out, her back stretching like a cat let out of her dark room for the first time in months. "She can not have a gun, no situation where she can manipulate you etcetera, etcetera. Everything else, I'll send you once you get on your plane." Kendall turned and left, "Go to the corner of King and Moore and you'll find an agent there waiting to get you your stuff, equipment and anything else," were his departing words.  
  
Jack raised an eyebrow as Irina continued to move about, her eyes still locked, openly, with her ex husbands'. She had obviously accepted she no longer had the ability to hide from him. Jack nodded to Sydney and Vaughn who walked out ahead of him; Irina went to leave seconds later but misjudged Jack's own departure and brushed his hand with her own.  
  
Sydney turned just in time to watch as they touched, more electricity flying than had been between them at any time in India. Irina felt it climb up her arm and she looked down, shocked, her hand growing hot and sweaty where it had come into contact with Jack's. Jack swallowed and tried to breath but to no avail. Looking up he saw both women staring at him incredulously and immediately his eyes were caught in a net as Irina saw right through and into his genuine mind. 


	6. Packing

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
A/N: okay, sixth chapter, have fun and take your time cause I shan't be back for three days, but R&R because when I get back I will only update if I can get motivated. Thank you so much for all of the reviews so far, they are great.  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Vaughn noticed that Sydney had stoped in time to turn and watch Irina and Jack lock eyes. Again he could have sworn that Jack looked young and Irina brighter.  
  
Irina stared with anxious curiosity. Jack's face flickered from the truth to his normal disposition and then back again. The moments he couldn't find defences to erect, he looked unsure and scared, exactly the opposite to what people thought of the sure and fearless Jack Bristow.  
  
She forced herself to look down, her mind ticking over, debating over what and why she had just seen what she had seen. Jack had been completely readable, probably exactly how she had appeared to him for most of the day. Irina came to the conclusion that this sharing of minds was a two way deal and that when she had let him in she had unwittingly lit a short fuse that would result in the opening of another door, exclusively to her. A door into Jack's own deep desires.  
  
Jack coughed, pretending nothing had happened and motioned for her to lead out. Looking up, she saw both Sydney and Vaughn watching them with growing interest. Quickly she shook her head and looked back down to the floor.  
  
Each took their own car, Irina catching a lift with Agent Vaughn as this was considered the most inconspicuous, to the corner of Moore and King. Jack arrived last, having opted to be late rather than there alone with a woman who was awakening more than just memories in him. He had been sure that Irina was completely under control, that he was completely under control and that while she had been foolish enough to let her defences drop, he would not do the same in case this was what it looked like: a trap. Obviously he had been wrong.  
  
Stepping from his car he was confronted with all three agents standing, each with dark glasses and upturned collars, around a bus stop. An agent leaning against the brick wall behind, speaking quietly on his phone,  
  
The agent closed his stylish cell and began to walk towards a set of stairs that apparently led down to the nearby house's basement. Each person followed, Vaughn first, pursued by Sydney, Irina and then finally Jack who went down backwards, making sure that they were not being watched or followed.  
  
Once below ground the foursome found themselves in a large drab and grey room furnished only with three sets of shelves and a sink, each up against one of the walls. Two of the shelves housed every gadget, gun and kit know to man while the remaining shelf housed four suitcases and rack upon rack of clothing.  
  
Quickly the anonymous agent spoke, "You'll find everything you'll need here. You are to go to Australia as tourists, an American family, mother, father, daughter and son in law due to the lack of simular looks. You will establish yourselves as tourists. A full report will arrive via telephone while you are on the plane at twenty hundred hours. These are your tickets, bios and passports. Good Luck."  
  
He turned and left after handing the papers to Jack who then handed them out respectively to each person, careful not to touch of look at Irina. Vaughn smiled; the silence eerie and deafening. "Hey," he said looking over Sydney's shoulder, "It looks as if we might get to sit together on this one."  
  
Sydney leaned over and looked at her father's boarding pass. "Hmmm, I've got 41B."  
  
"42A," Irina said.  
  
"42B," Jack told the group an edge to his voice as he realised that he was going to be sitting next to a woman that he couldn't look in the eye all the way to Australia.  
  
"41B," Vaughn couldn't help but smile at the idea of sitting next to Sydney for the twenty-something hours. "Right," he said with new found zest, "Let's get packing."  
  
An hour later, each sat beside a suitcase, full to bursting with gadgets, kits, cloths and carefully hidden guns. Irina had packed no guns and was looking please with her large assortment of clothes. Sydney had at least five automatics and a tranquiliser while her father had packed more. Standing up, Jack, brushed off the knees of his suit pants and flipped open his passport. The photo that greeted him was very much like what he saw in the mirror each morning. The man in the photo, a Christopher Pearson, had blacker hair, but other than that no difference.  
  
Irina saw what he was doing and followed suit, opening her passport to find a photo of herself but with black hair. Looking over her shoulder Sydney oooed. "You're going to have to wear a black wig for that one." Irina looked at her and smiled, all along aware of Jack's eyes as they followed her every movement.  
  
"Nope, I'll just dye it, I can't be bothered wearing a wig for three days straight. Where's yours?" Sydney brought out a passport, Naomi Sims, which portrayed her as that spitting image of her mother, complete with black straight hair. "Do you want to dye yours as well?" Irina felt uneasy asking her, but wanted desperately for her to say yes, not only because it would mean an easier trip but because, it just felt like if she agreed she would be accepting her.  
  
Sydney thought for a moment before nodding and heading with her mother over to the sink that had been installed for exactly that reason. "Don't take too long," Jack warned, "The flight leaves in two and a half hours so do it the quick way, I need it after you."  
  
Vaughn pulled out a passport that had a completely unaltered picture of him on it and breathed a sigh of relief, Craig Sims, born in 1972. Vaughn nodded and went back to looking through his suitcase, trying to fit in things that he wanted to take but wasn't sure about.  
  
Jack just sat, staring into nothingness, glancing at hie ex-wife and daughter as they silently dyed each other's hair with the CIA special quick hair dye set. God, he was in trouble now, wasn't he. He remembered Laura and only now would he admit that their relationship had always been missing one thing other than truth and that was this ability to look at each other and read minds.  
  
Now that he had it, it was as though a whole new dimension had been invented, it was incredible and horrible at the same time. Slowly, he tried to stop thinking about it and headed over to his daughter's suitcase, looking up he asked, "Sydney, can I look through here, just to make sure?" Sydney nodded, completely happy for him to look through it. Irina, on the other hand, saw him glance sideways at her own case and saw the ploy to get into her case for reasons unknown to her. She grinned in spite of herself, dropping her head as she continued to do her daughter's hair in black.  
  
Jack nodded and looked through the stuff to find a very well packed and prepared case, everything was something she needed and on top she had picked out clothing that would suit any terrain and clothing that would make her appear as any other tourist should. He smiled with pride before moving to the suitcase to its left, Irina's, Looking up he met her stare and quickly averted his eyes down to her nose, he saw her lips twitch up but ignored it. "Can I look?"  
  
She nodded, bringing her eyes down to his, both of them feeling the defences fall and Irina grinned again, as she got the knack of preparing herself for the openness. Jack just turned and went into her suitcase, starting by looking at the large amount of gadgets and kits she had managed to fit in. It was incredible that she had gotten so many and for a moment he was disappointed that he couldn't let her have guns in there. He moved to look at the clothing she had chosen. Mostly summer stuff as it would be early summer in Australia. Several bright dresses, a denim jacket, a few pairs of track suit pants and a pair of jeans plus a few shirts of different design and colour. He counted out the number of changes of clothes she was taking, "Why are you taking so many?"  
  
"Two reasons, first, I'm a tourist, no tourist takes only three changes of clothing and second of all, I think we might be there for more than two days, I'd guess more like a week." Irina didn't look up but she knew he was watching her, trying to evaluate her statement. "Kendall didn't tell us everything, there's more to it and that's why he isn't going to tell us until we are up in the air, on our way and with no way out."  
  
Jack's brow creased as Irina faced a theory he himself had been turning over for most of the day. "I have heaps of room; I suggest each of you," she started to address all of them, "throw another two changes in."  
  
Jack nodded and turned to the rack of clothing and gingerly picked out two pairs of jeans and two more T-shirts. Sighing he placed them into the suitcase and watched as Vaughn did the same. Sydney pointed out another red dress and a red bikini along with denim shorts. Jack placed everything carefully into the suitcase and shut it easily. "We can fit more in."  
  
Irina turned around, her hair suddenly black and straight, along with Sydney's, they looked at each other and laughed, Jack just marvelling at the change. Irina turned back and went along the rack eventually grabbing a blue bikini like Sydney's and a matching pair of denim shorts. Jack looked at her, his eyes showing terror when he accidentally met Irina's stare. She just smiled back and caught a pair of board shorts that Vaughn had just picked out. Adding them in, she still had room for one more item and when Sydney handed her another pair of board shorts it took her only a few seconds to realise who they were for.  
  
Jack watched, his eyes low and dangerous as he caught on to the fact that there were now enough clothes in the suitcase for a swimming excursion. But he didn't say anything, instead wandering over to the sink where he spent the next ten minutes dying his own hair.  
  
Turning back to them, he found everything firmly packed and each person ready to go. They were about to leave when Irina had to add, "We can't go like this." Sydney smacked herself in the head as she looked down at herself before looking across to a suited up Jack and brown clad mother.  
  
"Okay, grab something nice, and not something that you will get hot in." Jack commanded grabbing a pair of loose jeans from the rack and a light blue shirt. Grimacing he realised what everyone else was yet to know; that there was only one room.  
  
Vaughn turned around holing up a pair of black, light tracksuit pants and a white sweat shirt. Sydney with a green halter neck top accompanied by denim jacket and jeans while Irina went for a knee length black skirt and long sleeved, thin, red top with a neck line that hung in a cascading fall. Each slowly realised that there was only one room and Vaughn couldn't help but smile slightly as Sydney headed for a corner, Irina going opposite.  
  
He turned and headed for the wall, stripping off his suit jacket and top without much to worry about. He pulled the sweat shirt over his head and smiled when he noticed Sydney watching him like a hawk. With new found confidence, thanks to Irina, Vaughn kicked his shoes off and pulled his pants off revealing well muscled legs covered slightly by a pair of white boxers. Pulling the tracksuit pants on he turned to find no one else had made a move. He sighed but didn't leave.  
  
Sydney decided to get it over with, eager to see how her parents handled the situation; she stripped down to her underwear and glanced at Vaughn who was watching her a little too blatantly with a look of severe concentration on his face. She quickly got dressed, wrapping the denim jacket around her tightly to keep the biting cold at arm's length.  
  
Jack stared over at Irina and Irina stared back, refusing to begin first. Swallowing hard, Jack kicked his shoes off. He had been on many operations that had called for something like this, hell it had happened in India with Irina already, and look at what had happened to you then, he reminded himself. Letting his suit jacket slide to the floor he picked the shirt that he wanted on, up and quickly swapped them over, leaving very little time for I Irina to look him over.  
  
Sighing and realising her defeat, she turned and proceeded to get dressed. Minutes later her voice drifted across the room to where Jack had just finished tying up the pair of sneakers he had chosen. "The zipper's stuck," before he could stop himself, Jack had begun to walk towards her, had he thought he could get away with it, he would have stopped, but all eyes were on him and he couldn't back out.  
  
Irina watched him approach and saw his look of caution as he no doubt believed this was all a trick. Luckily when he arrived, she yanked at the zipped at the back of her skirt to prove it was stuck, and stuck tight. Careful not to graze her skin with his own, Jack took the zip in his hand, he was immediately aware of the heat that her skin was emitting and she was of his. Yanking it, he found it was, truly stuck, he fiddled with it for what seemed like hours, the scent of her hair entering his nose and staying there as he tried to get the zip done if only so that he could escape.  
  
Finally he found the catch and fixed the problem, doing the zip up with a forceful yank. A yank that was perhaps too forceful because it set Irina off balance and it was seconds later that she found herself face to face with Jack, his arms around her back as he caught her from a crash with the floor. Both forgot about the pair watching as soon as physical contact was achieved and suddenly they were paused, staring up at each other, scents mingling, eyes grabbing at each other's thoughts, and Jack unable to let her go, sure she would fall to the ground. He swallowed and tried again to breathe...  
  
Read and Review for more and go read Wish List 


	7. 4711

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
A/N: Um, no Wish List, cause I'm very tired and I have already got this hand written and it's my story that I'm working harder at, so, bad luck anyone who loves the other but hates this one. Okay, well, my parents and sisters are trying to read this and I'm a little scared of that, so perhaps I shall have to stop. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter, I have returned with many chapters hand written, but nothing typed or proofed. I also now have red, blond and orange streaks in my hair and it is going to be straight for a few days. Why I am telling you this, I don't know.  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
Carefully he let his hands slip from around her back to her waist and steeped backwards, pulling her upright before quickly letting go and turning away. Irina watched him with amazed curiosity forcing her to over analyze what she'd seen in his eyes; a deep, unacknowledged want for something.  
  
Jack stared at the wall, eyes wide and his breathing short and quick. Had he just seen what he'd thought he'd seen in Irina's mind or was it just his own unwanted thoughts being mirrored?  
  
Sydney coughed, gently bringing all three heads back around to her. She had no doubt of what she'd just seen but it wasn't something she wanted to bring up now. "We should get moving. It says in my bio that I'm the driver of a green sedan and that it will be our mode of travel to the LA airport."  
  
Jack nodded, regaining his composure hurriedly, "Right, the façade begins now." The four walked up the stairs, each bringing a suitcase behind them. As could be predicted, directly out the front, parked in the bus area, the foursome found an expensive looking sedan waiting for them.  
  
Sydney peered into the car, "Key's are in the ignition and since it says it is my car. I drive," she was hasty in deciding, recalling the many arguments that had occurred on the last mission with her parents. She smiled at Vaughn before opening the car boot, carefully placing the case inside she wandered around to the driver's side and, finding the door unlocked, climbed in. Inside she found the car had all the extras one could hope for and a few she didn't think were entirely legal. Hastily she turned the heater on, personally she had no idea how her mother could stand the cold of early December in her own thin, skin-tight shirt.  
  
Outside the remaining three looked at each other a moment before Vaughn opened the front passenger side door and climbed in, grinning at Sydney prior to turning to watch Jack and Irina clamber in, Jack obviously not impressed at Vaughn's eagerness to sit next to his daughter or the fact he had to sit next to what was fast becoming his biggest weakness. Vaughn quickly decided that Jack's agreement with Irina on his courting of Sydney was a one off and very likely a consequence of alcohol or some other drug.  
  
The half hour drive comprised of no discussion, no music and a lot of reading, each person required to have learnt their own history, likes, dislikes and personality by their arrival in Australia. Sydney, Vaughn noticed, seemed more than capable of reading while driving, even managing to do so around a traffic jam and a packed round-a-bout.  
  
Sydney pulled into the airport car park and turned in her seat to find Jack still studying his papers and Irina looking wistfully out of the window. Clapping her hands together, she turned to face Vaughn. "Well, let's not sit around honey; we have a plane to catch." She grinned.  
  
Vaughn looked at her in horror as the statement hit his ears, the voice was Sydney's but the manner was not. Jack couldn't help but look up, unimpressed at his daughter's comment. None the less he climbed out of the car and began to unload the bags. Smiling as he realized what Sydney was doing, Vaughn took on the roll of son-in-law and walked purposely over to the other side of the car. Educated at Harvard, Craig would have the etiquette to help both his wife and mother-in-law out of the car.  
  
Grinning from ear to ear, he offered a hand to Irina who gracefully accepted with a wink that didn't go unnoticed by anyone present. Patiently, Sydney waited, her door open, for Vaughn to offer her a hand. When he did she took it, smiling sweetly, and pulled herself up and out, passing by Vaughn closer than what Jack thought necessary. Noting this Sydney commented, "What? We've only been married for two months."  
  
Jack just looked unhappy; about to say something, he was startled into silence as a trolley rattle noisily into view. "Will they all fit on here, dear?" Irina asked, accent carefully replaced with something resembling French.  
  
Jacks' fists clenched as he nodded and began to haul the bags onto the trolley. The family of four began to make their way towards the terminal, a short walk due to Sydney's grand knowledge of the airport's setup. Jack and Irina in the front, false smiles in place and standing close enough to appear normal but not close enough to cause unwanted reactions.  
  
Behind them Vaughn blatantly grabbed his supposed wife's hand in a warm grasp. Catching her eye he smiled and was pleased to see she smiled back. Sadly, when he looked up he found Jack glaring at him, his earlier warmness gone, and Vaughn quickly dropped the hand he had been holding onto so tightly. Irina letting loose a sigh filled with exasperation, just loud enough for all to hear, causing Sydney to sum up the courage to look questioningly at Vaughn before grabbing his hand back up and continuing on, her father's stares eliciting nothing more than a menacing look from her own eyes and a firmer grasp on her handler's thin but strong hands.  
  
Approaching the check in everyone looked to ensure their features were perfect, perking up their smiles and Sydney linking arms with Vaughn completely, his grin more real than fake as she felt him move involuntarily towards her.  
  
"Good evening, passports and boarding passes please." The blond, daft looking, woman looked over the family, her eyes lingering on Vaughn longer than Sydney thought necessary resulting in a cold stare. Smiling, Irina took over, taking the papers form each individual and passing them to the woman, chin high and teeth showing in a friendly grin.  
  
Jack saw a similarity now between the black haired Irina now and the blond Irina in India, and suddenly he felt a tweak in the pit of his stomach. He stepped back as he recalled what had happened then and began to watch Irina carefully, ready to do whatever necessary to escape another kiss.  
  
"Off to Australia?" the attendant asked, a question that was, in all the people present's mind's, very dumb considering she was holding boarding passes that stated so.  
  
"Yes, some time with the family. Never get to spend time alone with my darlings," Irina drawled her voice smooth and still slightly French, an arm winding its way around Vaughn's waist much, for some reason, to Sydney's delight. "What with work, I never see them."  
  
The woman smiled, almost as though she didn't understand. Underneath Irina was laughing at the reactions everyone was silently giving her, Jack backing away as he obviously recalled the incident that had begun much the same in India, Vaughn obviously uncomfortable but trying desperately to hold himself together and Sydney acting almost proud of her mother's performance. Irina bit her lip, deciding to indulge a little before the trip really began. Fingering the necklace she had chosen, a gold chain with two blue semi precious stones, this one not laden with explosives, she flashed it at the attendant, as though she thought it deserved praise. She couldn't help but grin at Jack's look as the woman commented, "That's a lovely necklace, where did you get it from?"  
  
Jack just glared at her, there were three possibilities here, one she was setting up another kiss, god knows why, two, this was an amazing coincidence, or three, she was playing with him. "Oh, my husband gave it to me for our anniversary. He's looks so tough on the outside," she motioned towards Jack, "But underneath he's just a big cuddly teddy bear." Sydney turned away and began to cough as she tried to cover up bubbles of laughter. Jack just glared at Irina, deciding to back up another few paces. The attendant smiled, sick of the conversation and moved on.  
  
"Okay, put your luggage up here," Irina picked each up, Vaughn helping her as she feigned weakness with two of them, and the attendant weighed each, nodding and asked to look at the hand luggage they planned on taking. To this each held up a small backpack that they had chosen, to which the blond nodded before handing back the tickets and passports. "Check in is to the right, duty free shopping is on the way. You'll be able to board in an hour; customs should take about forty minutes." She smiled, expecting them to leave.  
  
Grinning still from the fun she was poking at Jack, Irina turned and walked away, the remaining three following, Jack muttering under his breath. Vaughn just leaned in close to Sydney's ear to whisper, "She's is very, very, very good at this."  
  
Sydney just laughed loudly, enjoying the feel of Vaughn's warm breath against her ear and whispered back, "Wait until dad gives her a gun."  
  
Vaughn looked at her, "She isn't supposed to be given a gun, we were told by her father that she didn't get a gun in India until Cuvee gave her one."  
  
Sydney smiled, "If mom hadn't gotten a gun, I'd most probably be dead." Vaughn raised an eyebrow, "It's true, the two of them," she motioned ahead to where the pair walked, a growing distance between them, "They could take down an army together." She nodded, "He'll give her a gun when she needs one." Vaughn smiled again, grabbing her hand and meeting her eyes, a look of happiness connecting the two instantly.  
  
Up ahead, Irina exclaimed suddenly with delight. "Oh Chris," she moved towards a nearby shop, "That's the perfume you bought me on our honeymoon!"  
  
Jack stared at her, aghast at what she was doing to him already. Irina looked back at him, obviously intent on him joining her with money in hand. Sydney had characteristically grasped Vaughn's hand tighter and was now leading him over, both complete with happy smiles. Half-heartedly, Jack began to make his way over to where his supposed wife was waiting, gleefully pointing out one of the many over rated perfumes. Looking around, Jack saw one of the shop assistants watching the rich-looking family closely.  
  
He sighed and whispered harshly to her, his smile remaining but his voice with a warning edge, "Stop stuffing around, you're drawing attention."  
  
She laughed loudly before whispering something that would have appeared seductive to passers by, "I'm a rich American: I want to be noticed."  
  
Jack moved back and grinned, keeping the façade alive. "What is it you want?"  
  
Her voice rose as and she picked a bottle up, looking it over with growing fascination, her eyebrows raised as she read the label. She looked up at Jack who continued to look around nonchalantly. "It is Chris, this is the exact same one that you bought me while we were in France."  
  
Jack glanced down, noticing the high price but little else. He raised an eyebrow. "Oh please darling, it's the first time I've seen it in years and we both loved the smell." Jack shook his head, an extra edge in Irina's voice causing him to acknowledge the fact that she was up to something. Chuckling, he gave her a hundred dollar note.  
  
He watched as the shop assistant scampered to the counter and smiled as Irina approached, Jack in tow. "Good evening, how may I help you?"  
  
Irina smiled, head high as though she had just gotten further ahead in some personal battle and Jack almost felt impressed at her acting skills, catching the thought early enough to stop himself from completely acknowledging it. "Just this."  
  
"Ahhhh, yes, a very good choice," She swiped the large box over the counter, the price of $69.95 registering and Jack watching as Irina handed over the money he had given her. He smiled sweetly at Irina, the woman obviously impressed at his dedication to his wife. "There you are, have a good trip."  
  
Sydney nudged Vaughn harder than he thought was needed for whatever reason. She nodded towards her parents as they stood in the corner of the shop, Irina puling the box out. "Something's happened with them."  
  
"How can you tell? They're both acting!" Vaughn whispered back, silently vowing to whisper as often as possible as it meant getting awfully close to her face. He pretended to look over a bottle of 'Eau Da Dali' as he watched Irina and Jack like a hawk.  
  
"I don't know, but something has happened since last I saw either of them," Vaughn immediately felt uneasy, aware that it was possible that Sydney was speaking of the discussion the three of them had had earlier that day or perhaps she was simply speaking of something else, something that even he was slightly aware of. He could only shrug as Sydney continued to survey them.  
  
Irina stood in the corner of the shop and looked at Jack with a strange look of regret about her. He looked up and questioned her with his eyes, a definite upside to this new dimension or awareness. She shook her head before asking, "You don't remember?"  
  
His eyes flickered, but he had no clue as to what she was talking about, "No, I don't. What?"  
  
"4711?"  
  
He looked at her, still with very little idea regarding what she was talking about. "I get the forty seven, that's Rambaldi, what's the one one?"  
  
"No," she paused, analyzing him, cautious about the subject as she recalled the look she'd been given when she'd spoken of their marriage. "4711 by Meulhens." She shook her head and took the box out of the bag; Jack just looks at it, his eyes slowly, focusing on the name.  
  
"This is one of the many coincidences of our marriage that rattled me years after when I finally realized," Jack looked at her, completely lost and showing it, she smiled sadly. Irina took the perfume from the box, gingerly handling the lovely blue bottle, she looked at him, letting him see in but trying to ignore everything she was seeing in his own brown eyes. "Please, on the back of my neck."  
  
Jack took the bottle from her; wary; even though he was sure she was just as frightened as she appeared. He waited for her to grab the mass of long black hair and hold it to the side, she had always worn her perfume on the back of her neck, he'd never known why, he still didn't. He gently pressed down, a sense of deja vu about him, and watched as a mist sprayed onto the back of her wonderfully curved neck, the small hairs standing up in the cold liquid.  
  
"Smell," she quietly demanded. He leaned in and the fragrance hit him; lemons, oranges, fresh red roses, morning dew and sandalwood oil. He gulped as he realized what she had been talking about, the number 4711 dawning in his mind with new meaning.  
  
"Our honeymoon," she nodded silently as he remembered; the feeling of something horrible gone as she realized the number had meant less than the smell and that he had not forgotten as it had seemed.  
  
"That's right, you bought this for me." He breathed heavily, involuntarily trying to get closer, the smell bringing forth memories long dead and buried. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up, it's just I saw it there and when you didn't even recognize...I thought you truly had forgotten." Jack shook his head, almost forgiving her for the mistake she thought she had made. She simply nodded before turning, the sad smile still in place behind the grin of a confident rich woman that she now wore.  
  
Sydney raised an eyebrow, confused at her father's uncharacteristic behaviour, but didn't bother to say anything as she led Vaughn over to where the pair stood, staring at each other, eyes looking deeper than Sydney had thought possible, especially for a pair so well guarded. As she got nearer, she saw jack gulp and slowly move closer, his lips inching, agonizingly slowly towards her mother's neck.  
  
4711 actually is a perfume, though not that expensive, I was looking for an expensive perfume in Australia's big fashion chain and I found it and I was just completely freaked out and then this woman came and wanted to know what I was interested in and, me being stupid, told her I needed a perfume name for my story and she wanted to know what it was about, and she ended up being someone who loves alias and she said that the perfume had totally freaked her out too. Anyways, it is real and isn't that weird. Plus, she let me have a smell and that's what it smells like.  
  
Read and Review please because it's the only thing to make me write! 


	8. Shiver

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
A/N: Ahem keep reviewing and I do know that jack seems out of character but, no offence to him, he doesn't really have any character, oh and I am a bit hopeless at writing, that might be why.  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
"Daddy," Sydney yelped, having no idea why she had intervened, her mind telling her over and over again that it was simply them keeping the façade alive. "What did you buy mom?"  
  
Jack looked around, momentarily startled, "Just some perfume. I bought it for her on our honeymoon and your mother wanted some more." He smiled, forcing it as he tried to recall just what he had almost done. "4711 by Muelhens, it's just wonderful stuff," he smiled at Irina who was watching him, sensing something was up as she turned to find Sydney franticly trying to calm her father down with conversation. He suddenly regained his composure and nodded to Vaughn, his son-in-law. "Keeping this up in expensive," he frowned, his sentence not making sense for neither his character nor himself. Irina simply laughed, gaining another hungry glance from the shop assistant.  
  
"We done?" Sydney asked, loud enough for passers by to hear. When everyone had agreed they headed out, now in single file, Sydney making a show, both to her father and the young blond to the right who was looking at her husband, of grabbing Vaughn's hand from behind him. Jack just hoped that Irina wouldn't catch on and decide that public displays of affection were needed.  
  
As they approached customs, Jack pulled a pen from his pocket, ready to activate a device to deceive the metal detector while the four walked through, a gun hidden under each arm of himself, Sydney and Vaughn. The suitcases, he knew, were being taken onto and off the plane by a CIA agent and the contents could therefore pose to threat as far as their exposure went.  
  
Walking through, an attendant checked their bags before pointing them over to a desk where an elderly, mustached man sat, smiling cheerfully at a young couple with three children as they wandered away heading for the boarding lounge.  
  
Approaching, the elderly man looked them over before asking, "Good evening. Are any of you carrying any wood, food, raw materials or illegal products?" He smiled obviously. His expertise when it came to seeing through people as they tried to hide their guilt or fear over hidden objects blatant to all four agents.  
  
Jack shook his head along with Irina and Vaughn. Sydney, ready to have a go at her character, in typical fashion, let a yelp escape her lips and rose her hand to her forehead. The man looked her over, trying to work out what had happened. Giving him a look she pulled her denim backpack off and produced a ripe, green apple from its depths, hidden below the papers.  
  
Shaking her head, she said, "Oh my goodness, I totally forgot. I bought this as my last meal in America; I'm going to miss this place." She looked up to see how she was going, her eyes falsely sullen. "I suppose I have to hand over the apple..." she sighed as she held it out, allowing the attendant to look at her perfectly manicured fingers.  
  
He looked up at her, biting his lip. I really should take this off you." She nodded, her hand reaching further slightly. "If you promise to leave the core behind...I'll let you have it this once."  
  
Sydney grinning, "Oh thank you, so much." She smiled at him and he let them walk through to the hall that led them down to the boarding lounge. Sydney and Vaughn couldn't help but crack up as they rounded the corner, leaning on each other slightly for support, Vaughn severely aware that she was there. Sydney took a large bite of her apple and gained a raised eyebrow and a wide grin of pride and humour from her mother while Jack just continued to look around them for possible threats, a small smile gracing his lips for a brief amount of time and only noticed by her supposed wife.  
  
Twenty minutes later, boarding began for first and business classes and the four of them stood, ready to board, the young red head taking their tickets without a second's glance and allowing them past.  
  
Once on the 747, Sydney and Vaughn each ordered a drink and sat down, beginning to exchange details over each other's new histories quietly, trying to learn while both secretly listening to any conversation in front.  
  
Irina sat down and instantly pulled out the airline magazine leaving Jack to stare at her having expected her to do something controversial; start a conversation or just look at him, trying to pull his defenses down again. But she just sat down and pulled out the magazine. When the air hostess walked past offering drinks, Irina simply looked up, for a tenth of a second startled before kindly declining.  
  
It was the fraction of time's alarmed look that brought Jack to the conclusion that Irina was thinking about something too hard. What that something was, he had no idea and so went back to staring at the chair in front of him, occasionally looking over at people as they boarded.  
  
The day had begun in the normal way for Jack; he'd woken at six and gone through the morning routine of showering, dressing, eating, before organizing his house and his day. It had been during breakfast that he had decided that he would have to face Irina, to finally say thank you so that he could stop feeling this itchy sort of guilt. Of course he had expected some problems but now he was sitting beside her, supposedly perfectly happily married and, still yet to thank her. He decided that he had severely underestimated the possibility of something going wrong.  
  
He'd admitted far too many truths and somehow been tricked into letting her see into his deepest and most private mind. Jack ran a hand through his loose black hair, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. Whatever happened In Australia, and after that, Jack swore to himself that he wouldn't fall under Irina's spell, not again, not now that he knew better, not now that he knew the truth. 'But you already have,' the voice within his own ears was quickly quelled.  
  
Irina let her eyes slide from the magazine to where Jack was running a hand through his now black hair. She turned a page, her eyes now completely focused on Jack as he closed his eyes, obviously thinking about her. She smiled a small smile as she realized the affect she was having on him. God knows why she had allowed him into her mind in the first place. A month before she would have scoffed at the idea of such complete honesty with anyone, but now...now she wasn't so sure that it was indeed such a bad thing.  
  
Now she was slowly letting him in, letting him lock eyes with her, playing with him while she tried to figure out why she didn't dislike being with him, why she was never waiting for him to leave, but instead, waiting for him to arrive. She turned another page and glanced at Jack who now seemed to be staring at his left hand, his brow again creased low. Slowly she sighed silently and continued to contemplate her predicament, closing her eyes she allowed herself to slip into a deep sleep, in the hope of missing take off, a part of missions she would always hate.  
  
Take off was relatively uneventful, Sydney and Vaughn swapping bios and silently reading as the plane continued to climb higher and fly faster. Sydney finding that her husband, Craig, was 31, a Harvard graduate, corporate lawyer. Born and raised in Oregon with a pent house in New York and a house in LA. His parents sailed the world and every Christmas they'd get together and celebrate. Vaughn had learnt that his Sydney or Naomi had completed High School before retiring to a house her parents had provided her with in Boston. The pair had met in Seattle at a gallery opening and fallen instantly in love. Sydney and Vaughn continued their study, going over the finer points and the personalities until far into the flight.  
  
It was around this time that a brunette, thin-faced, woman approached Jack. "There's a call for you Mr Pearson." She handed him a rather large cream coloured phone and left.  
  
Jack looked around discreetly before putting the phone to his ear, "Yes?"  
  
Kendall's voice rang through the phone, delayed a little, "Jack, I hope everything is going well. You are to arrive in Melbourne and spend the night in the Crown Casino Complex. You will spend the next four days establishing yourselves as tourists and be connected via phone which will be delivered by an agent, at seven pm Thursday, with details regarding your mission." Kendall paused, "Do you understand?"  
  
Jack was, of course, fuming by now, Irina's theory proving true; they were going to be stuck here for at least another four days. He simply nodded, slowly, noticing his daughter and his temporary son-in-law, watching the conversation. "Yes, that's fine. Everything is going well here." He hung the phone up and gave it to the agent as she walked back past. Turning around, he repeated the conversation to the pair.  
  
Jack glanced over to where Irina was sitting, curled up and hands in her lap, face relaxed and her eyes closed. Jack presumed she was asleep but watched her closely for the next twenty minutes to make sure. Once he saw that she neither moved nor breathed quicker or slower, he slowly relaxed into watching her, seriously trying to learn as much as he could from her while there was no chance of her forging a counter attack.  
  
Watching her, he noticed small lines at the corner of her eyes and long streaks across her forehead, all a result of a mixture of age, tension and strain. They didn't dim her beauty, a characteristic she possessed that could not be denied, they enhanced the sharp and, until recently, faultless intelligence that her features possessed.  
  
Jack noticed her hair was a duller brown, almost blond where it fell down around her ears. He smiled, happy to have found a weakness, even if it was age. That hair would be going grey soon. Looking behind him he found Vaughn and Sydney deeply engrossed in each other's bios, turning back he couldn't help but feel guilty as he looked at Irina, quietly and simply comparing her to Laura.  
  
Laura had had much straighter hair, and slightly darker. Her face had also been younger, but also seemed more naïve and innocent, whether Irina had truly been those things of if they were simply faked was indeterminable. Laura's face had seemed to be a different shape, longer and softer. Jack felt a kick in the stomach as he realized that he thought of Irina as being the more beautiful of the two. That he considered a woman who had ruined him more beautiful than his wife. Even if they were the same person, that was wrong to think.  
  
Shaking his head, he watched her as her chest rose and fell, her every move clearly outlined through the thin material of her thin top. She shivered in her sleep, with an eye on Sydney and Vaughn; Jack felt under his own seat and pulled out the light blue blanket. A scowl in place, but something inside slightly warmer than usual, Jack reached over and gingerly placed the blanket over Irina, a small smile lighting her lips as he did so, but her eyes never flickering or opening.  
  
Vaughn looked up a couple of seconds after he had felt Jack's eyes on him. Through the gap between the two chairs, Vaughn saw Jack guiltily holding a blanket. Seeing what was about to happen, he nudged Sydney, not allowing his eyes to leave the scene playing out in front of him. Together they watched, turning to each other, utterly shocked, as Jack turned back around, sitting silently, thinking about something. 


	9. A small but homely city

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack, Irina, Syd and Vaughn have to play happy families on a mission  
  
A/N: Merry Christmas everyone, I got heaps of stuff for Chrissy! And now, I will update, update, update and hope that you all will read this on Boxing Day! It's getting longer and longer and loosing some tension, but don't worry, I'll resurrect it soon. AND...read and review or I won't ever update, if you R&R enough, you'll have more every day!  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
Jack had been watching Irina for hours on and off, their stop over in Japan lasting over an hour, but she had not stirred and was still asleep in the same position as she had been during take off. They were now three hours from a quick stop over in Sydney and Jack was perfectly intent on sitting there watching her sleep for the rest of his life, even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone including himself. He watched her with wide eyes, both Sydney and Vaughn sleeping behind him, Vaughn's neck warmed by Sydney's head as she nestled, peacefully, there.  
  
Jack was disrupted when the object of his observation snapped her eyes open, the pupils going from covering most of her brown irises to small circles as the light assaulted her. Catching Jack's gaze firmly, her eyes were warm and welcoming mixed with a sense of unease and fear. She was obviously trying to make the best of a difficult situation. Her voice hoarse with sleep, she asked, "Where are we?"  
  
Jack silently thanked her for ignoring whatever emotions she must have noticed in his own stare, "We're just flying over the Great Barrier Reef."  
  
She smiled, realizing she'd done something right and pushed further, never one to be happy with only half. "The Great Barrier Reef?" he nodded, "I went scuba diving there once." A flash of Irina's slim body flowing through the water bounded through Jack's mind uninvited. "It was rather beautiful. I wish I could do it again..." she let her voice trail off, leaving Jack with the choice over whether conversation continued or not.  
  
He smiled slightly at the irony, his eyes still locked with hers. "Kendall called. You were right; he wants us to establish ourselves as tourists. We're to act rich and happy until Thursday night." Jack was, by now, having trouble. She was acting, sounding and looking like a naïve bystander, so honestly that Jack found himself trusting her like he would anyone else. Perhaps even more.  
  
Still she posed a threat for the moment. She smiled at him, deciding not to gloat about something else she had been right about. Breaking eye contact for the first time since she had woken, she scrambled around to look over to where Vaughn sat, asleep, their daughter's head nestled, now quite deeply, in the crook of Vaughn's neck, his head moving down, on top of hers. So closely that his lips were literally nesting against her forehead, both agents with strikingly rich grins on their faces.  
  
Jack smiled in spite of himself, happy to see his daughter sleeping so well and so happily. Irina turned back around, a deep frown etching itself into her features as she slowly began to stretch in her chair.  
  
Catching her confusion, Jack queried, "What?"  
  
"I don't remember getting this blanket out..." she watched the emotion cross his face, Jack suddenly too proud to look away. After a moment's pause, Irina pushed harder, "Did it just materialize out of thin air, or did the stork deliver it?" No reaction, "Santa Clause perhaps? Or the Tooth Fairy?"  
  
"Stop being stupid. You were shivering, you looked cold so I covered you with a blanket. If you are going to insist on trying to rattle me," Jack's voice was harsh but whispered to avoid attention.  
  
"I obviously have," she threw in quickly.  
  
Jack ignored her and continued, "Every time I do anything that you find intriguing, outrageous, wrong or unusual, tell me now!" Jack glared at her with all illusions of being nice lifted and the passion regained.  
  
"What changed you mind," she hissed, her voice snake like. Jack tried to predict where she was going with her opening rhetorical question. "Decided you might not like the idea of me looking uncomfortable?"  
  
Jack looked around them, realizing that despite the fact that the entire argument had been in hushed whispers, several people in Business class were now watching them out of the corner of their eyes. Trying to regain control, Jack lowered his voice another notch, still not prepared to concede. "That was not it!"  
  
"Then what," her accent was back, defiantly not French, "You did it out of hate? To spite me?" This was defiantly not normal behaviour for any couple and the side way glances they were getting were growing in number.  
  
"Be quiet," he conceded, unable to blow a mission on his own pride.  
  
"No Jack, I will not!" As soon as his name was out, Jack knew that he had to shut her up. There were two ways to do that and one involved a lot of blood and a blown mission. Deciding to put the mission before everything else bar the life of himself and his agents, Jack chose the least appealing.  
  
Leaning over quickly to where Irina still had her mouth open, ready to continue speaking, her face taunt with frustration and exasperation. He hesitated a moment before, his eyes locking with hers and Irina undoubtedly seeing exactly what he was about to force upon her. And then, careful to keep his hands in his lap, Jack lets his lips mould into hers, her emotion instantly dimmed her passion affected differently. Her lips were warm, he noticed quickly, warm and silky smooth yet the friction and tension was humongous. He remembered kissing Laura and it had been totally different, momentarily, he wondered why.  
  
He leaned back slowly and turned to look down, avoiding her eyes, unprepared to see what she was feeling and scared of what she might find in his own mind, his thoughts already reeling away from what he had wrongly anticipated.  
  
Irina turned and looked out the window silently smiling for some unknown reason. She sat, knowing full well that Jack had done what he had done for purely professional reasons but still, now they were even, she was no longer in front because of India, he had now gotten his back. Turning further, she licked her top lip before almost contentedly sucking on her lower lip, exactly where Jack's mouth had been seconds before.  
  
Behind them, Sydney watched from the crook of Vaughn's neck, she had had no idea anything could be so passionate and now, she could see her mother's reflection in the plane window as Irina sucked her bottom lip, her expression something akin to mischievous happiness. Smiling, the action over, Sydney closed her eyes and pushed further into a sleeping Vaughn's neck, placing a hand, hesitantly on his smooth chest.  
  
The plane skidded to a halt, awaking Vaughn. He looked out the window, expecting to see Sydney airport as they stopped over. Sydney's voce drifted over from beside him, "We're in Melbourne, you slept through Sydney." She grinned at him before unbuckling her seat belt and standing up. Vaughn followed suit, grabbing the backpack from beneath his chair. Irina and Jack walked soundlessly out in front, blatantly avoiding each other.  
  
The group made their way off the plane, each careful to keep the façade but all preoccupied with their own, private thoughts. Going through customs was easy, their bags checked and again the metal detector fooled. On the other end they watched, nonchalantly, as an agent left their bags among the others and moving on. Grabbing their luggage, they walked out into the multi-layered parking lot and car rental area.  
  
By this stage, both Jack and Irina had regained all composure and were acting the happy, if somewhat distant, couple. Approaching the attendant at the desk of Easy Ride, Jack picked out the most expensive rental and adopted a slight southern accent when talking to the young man who cheerfully handed over the papers in exchange for Chris Pearson's platinum credit card. Jack told the man that they wanted the car for a week and signed the insurance and terms papers before following another young man out to where the open top, silver Mercedes sat waiting, inside a large garage.  
  
Nodding Jack motioned for the man to throw him the keys, winking, the young red haired youth did so and Jack stuck out his hand to catch them. Unluckily, Irina was quick enough to grab them from thin air and gracefully slide into the front seat. Grinning, the boy shrugged and Jack could do naught but chuckle at her playfulness before helping Sydney into the back. Sliding into the front seat beside his wife, Jack smiled at the attendant before buckling in and watching as Irina drove off at a speed illegal in all countries but considered safe if the driver knew what she or he was doing.  
  
The drive was rather easy, Irina knowing the area well enough not to get lost, driving on the wrong side of the road coming as second nature to her and deciding to take the Western Ring road before driving across the West Gate Bridge, the small but homely city visible to the left. The docklands work was coming into it's latest bought of construction, housed high rises, expensive gyms and promenades and the newest theme park and film making area now totally cleared and ready for construction.  
  
Irina pulled large pink-tinged glasses from somewhere and let her hair run rampant behind her as she sped all the way, turning into the Crown underground car par and screeching to a stop in front of the ticket machine. She grabbed a ticket and searched for a car park, her mood turning dark when, after twenty minutes, they still had no park. Eventually she gave up and parked in the road behind what was marked, 'Executive', and got out, carelessly letting her door clunk against the bright blue car she was now blocking.  
  
Vaughn just raised an eyebrow, silently wondering what the next few days would hold before lifting Sydney form the car, his face growing how when he felt her arms wrap behind his head. Putting her down, he stepped back and turned to walk into the reception area.  
  
As the four entered, they booked the best two rooms and, grabbing one of the smartly dressed young men, Jack slipping him a twenty and told him their rooms' numbers. The man smiled back before beginning to lug all four suitcases towards the elevator. Jack just smiled and wandered up towards their room.  
  
Arriving, he smiled at Sydney who led Vaughn into the room next door, he opened his own door, slipping the key card in and opening it up to Irina, her hair now pushed back under a purple scarf. She wandered in, exclaiming loudly at it's beauty and continued with cooing noises until the door was shut, upon which she sat down heavily on the King sized, four poster, bed, covered in red velvet sheets and golden pillows.  
  
She looked up at Jack who was busy opening his suitcase. "It's gross," she told him, her voice higher than usual. "Far too regal." Jack nodded from behind her and continued to unpack, lifting his clothing out of the suitcase and dumping it into draws, leaving the guns, gadgets and kits hidden beneath the second lining and carefully hiding the case in the wardrobe to the west of the room.  
  
Seeing that Jack had closed up for the moment, Irina took to studying the room further. It was supposedly one of six royal suits, two were free at the moment, one was theirs, one was Sydney's and the other two were booked. To the east a rounded window gave a grand view of the city and the open air swimming pool, exclusive to the upper class residents. The Yarra River was visible below, its murky brown depths hiding the tranquil beauty underneath and the glass city buildings' shadows not casting far enough to reach the river in tune to the city's regulations. Smiling, Irina took a seat at the couch and watched the sun as it began to move lower on the horizon, behind her, she could hear Jack moving about, aimlessly, still too scared to leave her by herself, but unable to talk to her or acknowledge her presence.  
  
Go! Read and Review and read all of my other fics! 


	10. Not like that us

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
A/N: Okay, updating one or two a day, maybe three or all four if I end up with a lot of time, but the chapters are long, so don't complain. If you haven't gone and read my other three, Wish List, No Gifts, No Santa Clause, No Mistletoe (which started as a chrissie fic but isn't really and just got really good) and Escape, go and do so. Reviews people, they are what keep me breathing air. Oh and I found out who that one flamer was, the one person who made me feel horrible. It was my mother, isn't she wonderful and she meant it. Oh well, any review is good so please oh please oh please leave me one! Or else!  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
At the pool, situated, somewhat stupidly, on the fourteenth level of the hotel building, Vaughn was led, somewhat embarrassed, from the lift that had brought the pair down. Looking about, Sydney found that there were two separate pools, one cold and one somewhat warmer. No one else was about, most having returned to their rooms by now or still waiting for darkness to come out for a swim. Grinning at Vaughn she cocked her head, reading his flushed face as a sign of fear.  
  
She shook her head slightly, before realizing she wasn't really too eager to strip down, yet again, in front of the man of her dreams. They must have stood there staring at each other for at least ten minutes and it was only when a plane flew over, casting a shadow over the entire hotel that they realized. Grinning, Sydney summed up her courage and wandered, very slowly, over to one of the pool side benches. She dumped her bag, containing a towel, brush and the book she was reading, and turned back around.  
  
Raising his eyebrows, Vaughn followed her and placed his own things beside hers. Again they stood staring at each other, Vaughn's eyes lowering either because he truly was scared out of his mind or because he was imagining what Sydney was wearing underneath. Sydney eventually gave an exasperated sigh and pulled her shirt over her head, refusing to make eye contact, she wriggled out of the denim skirt she had changed into and kicked off her sandals. Feeling Vaughn's eyes on her, she quickly dived, into the shallow end of the colder pool; entering perfectly and surfacing down the other end, completely soaked and looking delightfully delicious top Vaughn.  
  
Vaughn watching her perfect movements, her body obscured under the water, the simple but incredible her red bikini, working the wonders he had expected on her usually suit covered body. She moved quickly, her head popping up at the other end and her body moving around to face him. She looked at him as if to say, 'Get in now, or I'll make you.' Vaughn just watched her carefully as she bobbed up and down in the water, an eyebrow raised as she waited.  
  
Taking a deep breath, he was inclined to turn away, but, pulling himself together, he chose not to and pulled the white loose shirt over his head, dropping it onto the bench. He could have sworn he heard a hushed 'damn' from the end of the pool, but chose not to ask about it. Kicking his jeans off, he walked to the edge of the pool, arms crossed over his chest in a weak attempt to hide. He put a foot in and pulled it out fast saying, "It's freezing."  
  
Sydney grinned and began to swim, with smooth and lazy glides, towards him. "It's fine once you get in." He shook his head and bent over, all the time keeping a close eye on Sydney. Sticking a hand in he found the water just as cold and standing up he flexed his back and shivered.  
  
"No way," he told her as she stood neck above the water just below him. "I think I'll just sit on the edge and watch you catch pneumonia."  
  
He turned around, as if to head back to their chosen chair, his eyes leaving Sydney's he felt a pair of hands around his bare calf and immediately regretted his lapse in concentration. His mouth opened to yell, but the pair of hands, pulled him, somewhat dangerously, into the water, Sydney's hands managing to get him in without causing a scratch, bruise or graze.  
  
His head disappeared under the water, Sydney letting go and turning to swim away, giggles escaping her lips as she heard him resurface with a loud splash and a warning, but playful, "That wasn't very fair."  
  
The fact that they were flirting was amazing, never before had they had this chance, and now, they were taking it. Both of them expected, not only by the CIA, but also by their parents, to act as though they were happily married without a care in the world, they were given the perfect opportunity to forget everything that had ever happened outside of this week's vacation and just enjoy themselves.  
  
Of course, every now and then, Sydney would realize that when they returned to LA, it was unlikely that anything could be different; Vaughn probably still determined not to do anything and her acting as though that was what she wanted. Vaughn, on the other hand, kept recalling Sydney's parents' words, telling him that it might, in fact, be a good thing. At least, to let her know how he felt. Still, thinking wasn't needed for the moment, their task at hand was simple enough for the time being and neither was going to complain.  
  
He eventually got tired of trying to catch her, after hours of coaxing, of sitting at opposite ends of the pool, talking about the weather, the countries they had been to, of Sydney's mother. Sydney did notice that Vaughn was particularly careful around the subject of the woman upstairs, but didn't comment, instead moving on to asking him if he had given up on chasing her around the pool. He just grinned, comfortable with her now, her body still gaining many quick glimpses, but Vaughn no longer blushed red, and he was growing in confidence and certainty that her mother had been right.  
  
Looking at her, a deep mock frown appearing real until his face creased into a warm smile, he shook his head slowly and turned in the pool. Putting his hands up on the ledge he hoisted himself up and out. The image of him, water running down his incredibly well sculpted and tanned back, hair sticking up as he shook the water out and board shorts clinging to his well muscled rear and legs, had Sydney's eyebrow raised high and her moth hanging open for a few seconds. Turning around as he grabbed his towel he saw the look and mistook it for shock at him giving up. "What? You think I was going to just stay in there with you until one of us drowned?"  
  
Closing her mouth, Sydney simply nodded, regaining her composure and swimming over to the ledge where he now had a royal red hotel towel draped around his neck and was preparing to sit down. "Can you pass me my book?" she asked, choosing to sit and read on the pool steps for a while before getting out, the cold night air already biting at her arms as she waited for him to oblige.  
  
Smirking slightly, he picked the bag up and pulled the book out, 'Chocolat', and stood back up, letting the towel fall back on the bench, crossing to the pool edge. He grinned as she watched him, suspicion in her eyes, but a hand outstretched for the book none the less.  
  
Grinning, Vaughn dropped the book at the last minute and grabbed her hand. "Got you," he explained and grinned, altogether too broadly for Sydney's liking.  
  
Not impressed, Sydney looked at him a moment before deciding she could probably get away with it. She shook her head and grasped his hand slightly harder, pulling hard and fast, and watching as he fell into the pool, head first in front of her; tricked for the second time that day.  
  
Spluttering he resurfaced and grabbed her around the waist to stop her from swimming off again, laughing at his own stupidity. She just laughed back at his deep and exotic chuckle. While both of them enjoyed the humour of the situation, they were, at the same time, acutely aware of the presence of Vaughn's hands, gently resting on the small of Sydney's back, one vaguely higher up, closer to where her ribs began. Grinning, Sydney was soon out of reach as his hands slipped away and splashing water at him furiously, all the while telling herself that she was only acting like this because she was a rich American wife.  
  
Irina watched with a mixture of delight and a feeling of sickness in the pit of her stomach as her daughter and her temporary husband flirted viciously in the pool below. She wished she could sum up the courage to call Jack over, just so he could see how happy love could make people, but as Jack was sitting on the bed, cleaning his sniper rifle yet again, she wasn't too keen on disrupting him.  
  
The room already smelt like them. She hadn't been in a room that smelt like the pair of them since she'd left, her cell smelling like her, the train too much like old crates full of tea among other things. But in this room, there was a smell of them. Together. Nothing precise, not a perfume or an after shave, but just like Jack and Irina, together. It was faint and like nothing that can be described properly. Just the two of them.  
  
Irina sniffed at the air again and smiled at the memories it brought out. Looking back down she watched yet another scene of splashing and a playful exchange of words, Sydney screaming in a way she wouldn't do in any situation that actually called for a scream. Their words were normally muffled, but the scream came up shrill and high pitched, one that would have upset other families had it been any later in the day.  
  
Jack moved quickly at the squeal, rushing over to Irina's side, gun with him and his face with a shred of terror running across it like a banner. "What happened?" His words were quick but didn't carry the normal revolt and venom that he pulled into them whenever he spoke to Irina. Irina was slow in answering; still watching the pair with curiosity and conscious that saying something stupid would only give Jack more reason to think about shooting her. "What happened, Irina?"  
  
She looked up at him, seeing the terror for his daughter and felt a small pang of regret at forcing him to wait so long. "Nothing she's fine." Irina motioned for him to look down to the pool where Vaughn and Sydney were still blissfully unaware of the on goings of upstairs. "Look."  
  
Looking down, Jack registered what was going on and licked his lips as though he had just bitten into something bitter. Looking back up he spoke with disdain, "You shouldn't have tricked me into telling Vaughn he could go after her." He looked down at Irina, his eyes on her, but everything else about him absent. She simply shook her head as if to say that she hadn't tricked him into anything. "Relationships and attachments have no place in this business."  
  
Irina let a peal of cruel laughter run off her tongue as she turned to face him, her eyes a little distant, not locking with his, but turning to look at his feet. "We've been over this." Jack frowned in defeat, the issue already discussed, and went to sit back on the bed. "Jack, be happy for them," only a whisper, not a game any more, not a trick, at least not in Irina's eyes, but a plea of sorts. "Just for the week, let them be happy."  
  
Jack shook his head. "That's what people said to me when I got married." He spoke of it as though it weren't related to either of them and again an annoying jerk in Irina's stomach pulled at her. "They never thought I'd tell, never thought it would matter even if I did." His breath was quicker than it should have been, the words of his superiors as they told him that someone should have seen it coming ringing in his ears. "But it did."  
  
Irina turned to look back down at them. "They're not like that." She knew she should have said 'us' but was too scared of what would happen.  
  
"No?" Jack's voice was cold and empty again. His question mattering but not to him, not at that moment.  
  
"No, not like us. They're in love." Irina let the words out, forgetting her own fear, purposely taking her time, wanting not only to see his reaction, but to see her own, both to the unspoken announcement and to Jack's reaction.  
  
I'm going to make you all work very hard for more!!! Seriously, if you read this and want to see more, you have got to leave a review. Gives all people a glare. 


	11. In and When

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
A/N Ahah, 8000 word in one night, in around three and a half hours to be exact, my fingers hurt and I have a cramp in my back. Anyways, review lots and lots and I will update lots and lots. Logic huh! Anyways, All four, so go read all our and review all four. It just makes sense. I like reviews; they are what keep me going as a writer. So read and review Please!  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were. If Alias ever did send out Lawyers, I wouldn't watch the show any more. Yeah Right! Hahaha, I'd watch it from inside my little box out on the street after they'd sued the pants off me. Anyways...Oh yeah, write the story, not the disclaimer.  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
He looked at her carefully before Irina watched, stunned as he closed down completely, as though his feelings were dead now and not just on holiday. He grew completely dull, his eyes, though they flew to hers instantly, were empty, she had a horrible feeling that she was still seeing what he was thinking and that he simply didn't care at all, that there no longer was any contempt, no hatred, no interest, no temper, no nothing. Just an empty chasm and she quickly retreated, turning back to the window and looking back down. "Jack, they're in love." More defiant now, as though she was trying to convince herself along with him.  
  
Jack just stared at her back, shocked that he wasn't feeling anything for her. Everything was so suddenly gone, his mind vacant almost, replaced with a feeling of emptiness, a feeling like there was nothing in him, that he was just hollow. She had plain out announced to him that she didn't love him and never had. He ran the words out again, everything scaring him, the emptiness growing and growing as he thought it over. Eventually he gave up and nodded to her, admitting what she was saying was true, that Sydney and Vaughn were in love and that she never had been in love with him.  
  
She didn't see his response, again looking out at them; their muffled voices were rising as Vaughn apparently threatened her with a dunking. Jack joined her, silently, not touching, but standing close enough to see out the window and to watch as Vaughn grabbed his daughter, somehow quite affectionately, around the waist and pulled her under the water with him. Jack felt himself smiling quite openly and serenely, even though in his mind he didn't really approve. He watched as they surfaced, a few feet apart and wide grins on their faces as Sydney yelled something that sounded anything but nice at Vaughn, getting only a deep, friendly chuckle in return.  
  
Jack let his eyes slide to Irina who was watching them from the couch, leaning against the side, almost slumping, her body winding down the material, her feet hanging off at the other end. Her head was resting on her hands and a small miserable smile was in place on her lips. Moving his head agonizingly slowly, Jack turned to look at her properly, his brow creasing low as he saw her face was covered in tears, another tranquil, transparent sphere of warm salty water running from the corner of her eye down her cheek and onto her hand where a tiny pool was forming.  
  
His forehead creased into a hundred tiny lines of concentration and thought. He wasn't sure why she was crying and it was, for now, his mission to find out. Going over everything, Jack soon realized that there wasn't supposed to be anything that could make this woman cry but extreme physical pain and it didn't look to be that. He surmised that his vision of her must have been wrong. Unless, of course, she was faking it. He decided that this was unlikely as she didn't ever know he was able to see her. Looking at it from the outside, as he so often did, he narrowed it down to two possibilities.  
  
If Irina was a normal woman she could have been crying because she knew something about Vaughn or Sydney that she shouldn't have. This of course raised thoughts of Irina's honesty in Jack's mind. For a couple of moments he wondered over the numerous traps that she could have been leading Sydney and Vaughn into their unavoidable deaths. But he doubted this, she wouldn't care it this were the case and if she did, as the tears suggested, then she would find a way to avoid it as nothing that involved them was inevitable.  
  
The other option was that she was, honestly, sad. This had to be it, Jack surmised, over what, he didn't know and was inclined to ask. Being the authority figure, he could force her to answer, couldn't he? He carefully leaned over to watch as Vaughn pushed Sydney away from him and scrambled for the pool wall, trying to get out before she could get at him. Smiling again in spite of himself, he turned to look at Irina again, his smile dimming as another tear fell onto her slim hands.  
  
Summing up his courage, though he didn't know why, he raised his hand, slowly, up to her shoulder, but didn't touch her, just letting it hover there for a while as his mind debated over whether or not to do this, to initiate a conversation. His mind was made up for him when she moved slightly and her back hit his hand, the taunt muscles and bones having a presence for only a second after which she pulled away and turned around to face him.  
  
A hand came to her mouth, discreetly wiping at the tears, the stains remaining in little streaks down both her smooth cheeks. "Jack," it was a shocked word, her voice lighter and higher than usual and her entire body moving back, having been unaware that he was even there while she had been looking at her daughter's fun below. Immediately, she wondered what he had seen and, more importantly, what he had thought she was thinking.  
  
Jack just looked at her, not staring at her and not moving away, unaware that he was cornering her between him and the window. His brow creased and he looked at her without any hatred or contempt, just curiosity and questions asked through his eyes. It was only after he had asked her that the emptiness returned and he watched as she turned back to the window, another tear falling onto the couch.  
  
"What?" he asked, earnestly looking for an answer. "Why are you crying?" It sounded sentimental off the tongue, no matter how cold and monotone he made it, the sentence forced its way out as a sentimental query.  
  
Irina noticed the new note and turned hoping to see something other than the questions in his eyes, anything, hatred, contempt, disdain. But nothing, just passionless ideas, natural curiosity and question, none of the sentiment she thought she had heard in his question.  
  
Still, he deserved an answer and she turned to try to lie her way out of it. "Because, I'm upset." He looked at her with a tinge of unrealistic emotion in his eyes. Seeing a deal, Irina quickly spoke, her voice rushed as she finally found a place to hide, at least temporarily. "I tell you what." She paused, "I'll tell you the truth, if you answer one of my questions truthfully..." She didn't really expect him to even think about agreeing, his mind too sacred and too closed for him to risk her getting further in.  
  
So when he nodded immediately, only changing it to "Two questions for two answers," she bit down on her lip in shock. Automatically she realized that he had another question that he wanted an answer to, but she couldn't back out now.  
  
She nodded, "Okay. ...I was upset because Sydney and Vaughn look so happy and I've never been there." Jack's brow creased down again at this point, having never thought that she might actually tell him the truth, he was quite surprised to find her seemingly telling him exactly what she felt. Taking another breath she elucidated further. "I mean, I've never really been that in love. Not happy like that. It's hard to explain."  
  
Irina was purposely rocking the boat, giving him ideas that he could read his own way, decipher them however he wanted, and at the same time, she realized she was telling him the truth about what she was thinking. She didn't really have much more to say so she turned to look at him again. Jack nodded, accepting the answer and looked at her, preparing his own second question. Going over the possibilities of attack.  
  
Eventually, he decided to risk all for the chance of getting all. Dropping his head, his voice smaller that he wanted, but unable to fix it he asked, "You said that they're not like us, that they're in love." Irina nodded, ready for the question, anticipating it. "Well, do you mean you were never in love," Jack almost finished there, but too scared of being cheated out of an answer, quickly added, "With me?"  
  
Irina just stared at him, sure she had known this was the question that was coming and she had the entire answer planned out, half truths and half lies mixed to form the perfect science fiction for him, but now, coming from him, she wanted to tell the truth and before she could stop her mouth she did. "No, I did love you."  
  
This was big news to Jack and Irina was instantly aware of how stupid she had been. While she had admitted that to herself years ago, he didn't know and now she'd told him. But his eyes weren't empty. She noticed it the moment she decided she would lie through her teeth to throw him off again and she stopped the words before they came out, instead, staring at Jack with interest, searching his eyes for what she was seeing. A mixture of passionate interest, passionate fear, passionate uncertainty, everything mixed but everything with a side of passion and it was incredible to watch.  
  
"I did and," she was thinking 'still do' but chose differently, ignoring the sudden thought. "I'll admit to that. But it wasn't real for either of us because it was never the truth." Seeing something flare up in Jack, she quickly retraced her speech and found the cause for his rage. "I mean, it was real, but it was all part of a lie." She shrugged and smiled weakly, again looking out the window down at Vaughn and Sydney.  
  
Jack watched her, sensing more, but happy with what he had gotten. He nodded and breathed deeply, now that he had his own two answers, he was scared of what he might be forced to tell her. Knowing that his eyes would tell her if he chose to lie. Nodding, Irina began carefully. 


	12. 20 questions, um, no 2

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat, then they go on a mission with Syd and Vaughn and then, well just read the story. Like duh!  
  
A/N: Sha bang, that's all four in one day, for two days in a row, now no one can say I'm slack! Read and review as many of them as possible please people, reviews are, honestly all that keeps me going. Nothing else works, especially since my family are about as encouraging as a wooden door with nails in it.  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were. If I win tatslotto, ten times, I'll buy them and throw Jack and Irina into a room with a big bed and lots of alcohol and toasters and throw Syd and Vaughn into another room with a lot of hockey tickets and pizza, and a bed.  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
She smiled weakly, now that the time had come, there were no questions that she really wanted answers to and even the few that she did want to know, she only wanted answers if they were the ones she wanted to hear. Looking up she bit her lip and thought hard, scrambling to find a question that would actually be worth asking and one that wouldn't upset Jack. Pausing before asking, rephrasing and rephrasing, trying to put her thoughts into words, she ultimately decided to ask, "Why do you keep Sydney at such a distance?"  
  
It was simple and open ended, Jack could have conceived it as being malicious, but didn't instead looking back out the window and staring down at Sydney where she continued to have fun, lucky enough not knowing about the serious conversation going on up stairs. Deciding to return the favor of being honest and as open as they could afford, Jack answered, "I don't know. It's not as though we just grew apart. It just happened. After you left, I didn't want to know her, I left her all alone and even now we can't have a normal relationship."  
  
Irina waited an extra second before questioning further, "But it's getting better now?"  
  
Jack smiled a little and asked her back, "Is that your second question?"  
  
She grinned in spite of the pain that was welling up inside her. "Sub question."  
  
Subduing a second smile, Jack replied, "I think so, I'm not sure she realizes it, but we're growing closer. I'm slowly getting to know her, to know who she has become." He stopped and looked at the back of Irina's head, her hair was hanging in wavy curls, each moving in a different direction and cascading down to hang around her neck and arm, hating that there was no way of seeing her face, no way of knowing what she was thinking. As she hadn't said anything more, he added as an afterthought, "We work well together."  
  
She nodded, her hair glinting in the sun that was pouring in the window as the sun set, "You do. You're unstoppable." Her voice was sad and Jack almost felt sorry for whatever it was that had her feeling so bad. "Next question?"  
  
Relaxing, Jack leaned against the back of the sofa, careful not to touch her, but leaning in so that he could continue to watch Vaughn and Sydney flirting beneath. "Yes, next question," his voice startled her, he saw all of her muscles contract for a brief second as she realized how close he must have been, feeling his breath against the back of her neck. She smiled, he was finally calming down while she was becoming more and more tense.  
  
She thought for a moment, her mind continually bringing the same question up, but she was unsure of asking it. When Jack's voice started again, smooth and almost friendly, "Well? A question?" she decided to ask it any way.  
  
"Okay," she paused, her voice was different, the accent she was used to throwing into every word gone as she thought seriously about asking him. Flexing her shoulders, she asked, "Under what extraordinary circumstances could you ever trust me?"  
  
She held her smile in self reassurance. Her eyes no longer focused half on the pool, but glazed over as she was busy begging her body to turn around and see what he was doing. After minutes silence that felt like a life time to both of them, Irina inched her way around, letting her eyes lock with Jack's. Seconds later, she realized that he was going to be able to see her fear at the same time.  
  
His eyes were filled with deliberation and deep thought, but also hesitation to tell her something. His eyes turned to show a look of amazement as they registered the fear in Irina's and he could only watch as she quickly turned away, only finding his voice when her back was turned again.  
  
"I don't know," he saw her curl up a little more, her back bending as she wrapped her arms to her stomach, he wasn't sure he wanted to know why. "When you first came back I thought never. Not ever, I mean, not in a billion years. But..." he trailed off, looking for a way in which to explain. Trying again he began, "I mean, the people you killed are far fewer than most other criminal masterminds and I've looked over the case files; the last death was in eighty eight, before the end of the War, so maybe you were just doing your job."  
  
On the other side of the couch, Irina's eyes creased into thought, she'd asked him 'under what circumstances' and yet he was almost trying to find a way to make what she'd done okay. She continued to listen; intrigued at his line of thought as it was so close to her own.  
  
"I mean, you have definitely done things wrong that you would have done because you chose to, but I just don't see you as another Cuvee or a Stalin or anything like that." He stopped and was desperate just to touch her but knew he couldn't. He waited for hours though in reality it was only minutes for her to say something, anything to show that she was happy or mad or upset. There was just silence, nothing, she wasn't even moving.  
  
Irina was trying to get her head around what he had just said, he seemed to be finished but the words, the words of hope and of honesty were like a drug and she wanted more. Devising a way quickly to get him to speak again, she realized that he hadn't actually answered her question and so, with an edge of humour, asked, "You still haven't answered my question. And I hardly think that that's fair."  
  
He smiled behind her, taking this as a positive sign, not, he told himself, that he wanted her to like him. He almost laughed at himself then, but stopped the bubble from escaping just in time. Thinking back he realized that he had indeed missed the entire question. He smiled again, "I'm not sure; to trust you...I'd have to understand you. I'd have to know you, properly, and I'd have to like you." The conversation was becoming almost enjoyable and they paused again, taking time to look down at the pool where Vaughn was busy helping Sydney out. Typically, a few moments later, Sydney had pulled Vaughn back in and he was threatening to just leave her there.  
  
Irina grinned and asked again, "None of those things have been achieved at all?"  
  
Jack shook his head, moving around to stand beside where Irina's head still rested on her hands on the arm of the couch. "Another sub question?" She nodded and he thought for a while before answering. "No not really. I definitely don't understand you and the rest, well no."  
  
Irina grabbed at the chance as soon as it reared its head and she asked. "You don't like me?" He hadn't said that he didn't and this told her that he didn't want to give her his answer. Whether it was because he wasn't sure of himself or for another reason, she wasn't sure. Grinning she waited for a reply.  
  
Jack stood, stark still for a few moments before querying further. "How many sub questions do you get?"  
  
Irina's face fell as he avoided the question and she answered, trying her best to get him to tell her what he truly felt, "This I'm asking because I think you want to tell me."  
  
He looked at her, trying to work out what she was feeling. He saw that she was watching the pool again and let his eyes travel, somewhat lazily, down the length of her body. Taking in the way she dipped in and out of the sofa, as though she was lying in a shallow pool. Realizing she was waiting for a response but still unaware of his surveillance, he answered, "I don't think that's a fair question, but I'll answer it." He paused, "I admire what you're capable of, think you're intelligent in your own right, believe you to be looking for the best for our daughter and, I must admit, I do seem to want to like you."  
  
Irina let her eyes slide to where he was standing, his face steely once more, the corner of his mouth turned up, the only clue that there might be something other than superficial hatred to Jack Bristow. Staring out of the corner of her eye, she grinned at him, looking to make sure he wasn't watching her as well as if he caught her grinning there was a chance he would only become angry at being caught out.  
  
In a rush, he suddenly captured her eyes and his look was quizzical and teasing, as though he'd been abducted and replaced with someone with feelings and the old Jack Bristow taken away for ever. A little taken back by his sudden change Irina felt her mouth open a little in shock, a small squeak escaping her lips that had Jack's mouth twitching into an even bigger smile.  
  
Grinning he leaned over further, Irina catching a strong and drugging whiff of him as his moved closer to look out the window. Sitting up Irina moved over to give him enough room to sit down. Awkwardly he did so, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees as he continued to look out the window. Irina just remained; legs up and to her right so that she was leaning in towards him.  
  
Staring out, both faces fell until they both held looks of severe concentration. Looking at him, Irina asked yet another question, her voice almost begging him to agree, "What do you say we just act like good parents for the week? No fighting, just let Sydney be happy?"  
  
Jack smiled at her and nodded without hesitating a moment. "Sounds good. But can I trust you not to try to run?" It was his first question regarding trust, the first time he's used it in a friendly way with her and when she nodded soundly, he smiled and turned to look back down at the sparkling blue pool that was shining blue in the early dusk.  
  
Jack looked at her, taking in the increasingly large grin and told her, his voice whispered and sensitive, "You know what?" She looked up at him, her eyes asking him to say something nice while her heart beat quickened as she waited for what she expected wouldn't be so nice. "I think that you've proven that you won't run. I...trust you not to run."  
  
While it wasn't full trust, Irina was feeling great to just have gained that small amount from such a closed man and so she didn't push the issue, instead turning looking at the City of Melbourne, admiring the Yarra river and the scattering of lights across the docklands and city skyline.  
  
Read and Review, please oh please oh please! 


	13. Pool, Shopping, Dinner and To Bed

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat, then they go on a mission with Syd and Vaughn and then, well just read the story. Like duh!  
  
A/N: Sha bang, that's all four in one day, for two days in a row, now no one can say I'm slack! Read and review as many of them as possible please people, reviews are, honestly all that keeps me going. Nothing else works, especially since my family are about as encouraging as a wooden door with nails in it.  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were. If I win tatslotto, ten times, I'll buy them and throw Jack and Irina into a room with a big bed and lots of alcohol and toasters and throw Syd and Vaughn into another room with a lot of hockey tickets and pizza, and a bed.  
  
Chapter Thirteen  
  
A few minutes later, she stood up, Jack instantly standing with her. Irina needed a breath of fresh air, she just wanted to get out for a moment, but she chose to ask Jack rather than start another argument by just leaving, "Jack, can I go out?" He looked at her, confused for a while until she explained, "Just for a while, only to look around." Looking as though he had no preference in the matter, Jack nodded and watched as she almost ran out the door, turning left and heading towards the elevator straight away.  
  
Seeing that she was gone and that he was alone, Jack headed straight for the bathroom, stripping off, he was soon under the hot water, trying to forget everything in his life and just standing there, under the harsh, hard pelt of water.  
  
Down at the pool, Vaughn was standing about three meters from the edge, laughing, a hand on his hip and Sydney hovered in the centre of the water, asking him again, "Come and give me a hand, please!" It was only after the fourth time that she'd tricked him and pulled him back in that he'd realized that perhaps he shouldn't lend her a hand and now he was refusing to budge, not ready to leave without her, too scared of what she might do should he choose to upset her and too smart to go near the pool again. She called him again, "Vaughn, come on, please."  
  
Sydney knew she was taking a risk that her father wouldn't approve of by calling him by his real name, but she was sure no one was about and was hopeful that it would convince him to come nearer. After several more attempts of persuading him over, she began to pout, hands on her hips under the water and her face similar to a five year old girl without a lollipop, if a little less innocent.  
  
Vaughn, looked at her, shaking his head, he knew he'd eventually be convinced to go over, he just wasn't sure if he should go sooner rather than later. Opting for sooner, he made his way over, hesitating with each step as Sydney's grin grew bigger and bigger. Frowning as he reached the rim, he knelt down and tried to grab a foothold somewhere.  
  
Finding nothing he decided to try warning her and, putting on his gruffest and boldest voice, he told her, "Don't pull me in again. Or, I swear, I will leave." The fact that Sydney cracked up at the end could have been because he'd threatened her with the same thing the last two times or it may have been because of the stern look on a topless Vaughn's face was truly funny.  
  
For the millionth time that day, Sydney gave herself the leisure of looking him over, looking at his face last and bursting into laughter again when she found it a deep shade of red. Shaking her head, she reassured him between laughs, "I won't, I want to get out now."  
  
Taking a breath and trying not to smile, Vaughn reached over and held out a hand, he felt Sydney grip it hard and wasn't surprised when she pulled hard. But, instead of him going forward, Vaughn used all his strength to remain where he was and have Sydney pull herself up. The water rushed off her body and she found her hand still clasped in Vaughn's, her feet against the pool wall and her legs still half submerged in the water. She was literally suspended in the air, Vaughn's hand and strong arm the only thing holding her in place.  
  
In a flash she became conscious of the fact that the back of her hand was lying against Vaughn's chest and that her nose was inches from Vaughn's. His eyes locked with hers, green emeralds meeting brown softness as he teased her, whispering for no real reason, "We can go in or we can go out...it's up to you."  
  
Sydney smiled, blushing furiously and told him, "Out." He grinned in victory and pulled her up and out, her feet kicking off the pool wall so that she didn't hit her legs. Smiling, they landed in a heap, Sydney's fall onto the concrete prevented when she landed on Vaughn. Lying there for a minute, having never been so close to him, she tried to take in every detail.  
  
She had never noticed the little things before, if she conjured up a vision of him, they were there, but she hadn't acknowledged them. The little freckles, the day old stubble he always had, the little flecks of gold in his eyes, the way his chest rose and fell with each breath, she could have gone on forever, but didn't.  
  
Vaughn was having trouble breathing and, while he could pass it off if she noticed to the fact that she was crushing him, which was a lie, he knew that wasn't the case. He noticed her looking at his eyes with curiosity and amazement and gave her a quick lop sided grin and standing up, pulling her with him and setting her down a foot away. Quickly he regained his normal breathing and walked over to their bench.  
  
Rummaging around from within his towel, he pulled out his watch and re attached it around his wrist. He was slightly shocked when he realized it was just passing nine pm. Looking up he saw that it was dark and raised his eyebrows, telling Sydney, "It's just gone nine, we've been out here for hours." She just shrugged and wrapped the towel around her.  
  
"We'd better go straight up and see what my dad wants us to do about dinner," Sydney's voice was a little sad, as though she was upset that their fun was coming to an end, this only made Vaughn grin and grab her hand, telling himself it was only so that people watching knew they were involved. Sydney looked up and smiled at him and, grabbing her bag and what was left of her things, she led him to the elevator which would lead them up to the royal suits.  
  
Irina thanked the woman and took the bag from her. Walking out of the shop, she thought about ordering something for dinner but decided to talk to Jack first; knowing that if she ordered without asking for permission there was a good chance he'd get mad and see it as an attempt to take control.  
  
Grinning, she glanced at her watch and seeing that she had already been gone for over forty five minutes, she headed straight for the elevator that would take her up to her room, all the while feeling like a girl who'd just done something extremely good. Grinning, she got in and pushed the button. Half way up a couple got in and after two more floors she was joined by a dark haired man who was around thirty who winked at her, leaning against the wall and flashing perfect teeth. She just smiled, ducking her head and stepping out at her floor.  
  
Stepping out she turned and headed left for her room, she was stopped when Sydney's voice rang out behind her, "Mom, hey, wait up." Sydney, having just stepped out of the other elevator, dragged Vaughn who was still dressed in shorts with his towel around his neck, up to her mother who stood waiting.  
  
Grinning, Irina took the pair in, extremely impressed at how good they looked together, Vaughn with his perfect tan alongside a slightly shorter Sydney with toned body and wet hair. "Hi, been swimming?" she almost laughed but stopped herself, not wanting them to feel like they were always being watched.  
  
"Yep," Sydney answered for the both of them. "Where have you been?" Sydney asked, eyeing the designer bag and obviously wondering how Irina had managed to escape the clutches of her father.  
  
Irina simply smiled and told her, "I just had quick look around, did a little shopping." She grinned at Vaughn who just looked at her stunned for a moment before his forehead creased as he watched her open her mouth, "Anything exciting happen down at the pool?"  
  
Vaughn wanted to glare at her, but it came out as more of a secretive smirk that he shared with her, gaining a look from Sydney but no pointed questions, instead just a confused answer, "No, nothing. Why?"  
  
"Oh, no reason," Irina led them to her door which she opened and walked in.  
  
Looking around Vaughn remarked, "Mirror image to ours, everything is the exact same." Sydney nodded, wandering around.  
  
Irina couldn't help herself, "Yes, great views," Sydney peered out the window, her eyes drifting from the city to the Yarra, down to the pool and she blushed red ferociously, while Vaughn began to sweat.  
  
Dropping the bag on the bed and about to say something else, Irina was interrupted as Jack reentered the room, his hair still wet, from the bathroom, his face expressionless and his voice the same. "Good evening you two." He glanced at Irina, obviously glad to see her back without anything out of place.  
  
Vaughn nodded and Sydney quickly told him her reason for being there, "We were just wondering what you want to do about dinner..."  
  
Irina looked at Jack, who, blatantly in charge, looked at his watch before shrugging, "It's late, I figure we all just order room service and get together tomorrow morning for breakfast."  
  
Sydney nodded, "Nine?" Jack looked about to make it much earlier but as he realized that they were supposed to be on vacation, he shut his mouth and simply nodded.  
  
Vaughn raised his head and his voice came out quiet but simple, "Okay then, we'll see you tomorrow." Sydney nodded, agreeing and felt a sudden urge to kiss her parents good night, holding back she settled for a nod.  
  
"Good night." The pair walked out the door, still holding hands and headed for their own rooms. Once there, Vaughn called room service and ordered pizza which they attacked with vigor due, they both claimed, to their hours of swimming.  
  
They talked about the weather, the mission, life, Donovan and many other trivial things, the time coming to sleep far too quickly and only arriving when Vaughn looked down at his watch and, startled, remarked that it was far into the early hours of morning.  
  
Sydney just grinned, "Bed then." Vaughn looked at her, taken aback. "You want the floor tonight or tomorrow."  
  
Vaughn suddenly had a surge of bravery and Irina's encouraging shoves came back at him, telling him, willing him to pursue the idea that had just struck him. Sydney was watching him carefully, waiting for a response and all she got was a grin as he continued to debate with himself. Finally, summoning the valor he explained, "I think we're both adult enough to manage together in the one bed." Seeing her hesitate, he added, "Look at the size of it."  
  
Sydney smiled a little shy all of a sudden and nodded, grinning as she added, "Only if you promise not to try anything." Despite the fact that a million ideas quickly popped into his head he shook his head, adopting a sterrn look. It had been no admission of love, but it was a start and as Sydney disappeared into the bathroom, he was inclined to let out a whoop of joy, but didn't, knowing it would buy him some awkward questions.  
  
Grabbing a pair of tracksuit pants from the case, Vaughn kept a close eye on the bathroom door as he changed, going back to look at the bed from all angles, trying to work out what might happen. The door to the bathroom opened behind him and Sydney reentered wearing nothing but a silky red pair of underpants and a business shirt she'd stolen from his case.  
  
Personally, Sydney couldn't think of anything better to wear, the shirt smelling like Vaughn more than anything else she'd ever gotten her hands on and keeping her warm at the same time. She watched with a grin as Vaughn eyed her over, his mouth falling open as he did so. Feeling she needed to say something, she interrupted his scrutiny, "I didn't know I was going to have to sleep with you," she paused then, realizing what she'd said, added, "In the same bed, I mean."  
  
Vaughn grinned and disappeared to brush his teeth, emerging a few minutes later to find Sydney already in bed, snuggled to one side, close to falling out; smiling to himself, he turned the light off and joined her, sliding in close enough so as to feel the heat radiating off her while not close enough to have any contact.  
  
Well, I was going to write more, but I'm already well over 2000 words, so you can all wait for whatever happens that night on the other side of the wall....hahaha...review and you'll find out sooner rather than later. 


	14. Getting into Bed!

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat, then they go on a mission with Syd and Vaughn and then, well just read the story. Like duh!  
  
A/N: there you go, you see lots of reviews give you lots to read, special thank yous to Andi, chickyconqueso, Danielle Smiley-Face, ev, kate and Mrs Vartan for their great reviews for this story, everyone else, your reviews are great too!!!! They are what is getting you more to read. So keep it up!  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were. If I win tatslotto, ten times, I'll buy them and throw Jack and Irina into a room with a big bed and lots of alcohol and toasters and throw Syd and Vaughn into another room with a lot of hockey tickets and pizza, and a bed.  
  
Chapter Fourteen.  
  
The wall between them was thick, made that way in case the Casino ever had two important people staying that didn't want to listen to each other. Inside the wall, millions of wires, tones of insulation and metal walls were hidden, along with a few rats, mice and weird object such as pins, bowties and old sandwiches, that no one would ever know how they had arrived to be in the wall.  
  
On the other side of the royal red wall, Irina had just gotten out of the shower. She wrapped the towel around her body and grabbed another, slightly smaller towel and used it to dry her hair. Stretching to give her joints some movement, she then carefully wrapped the feathery royal red towel around her head, keeping all her hair up and out of her way. She made to walk out but her reflection in the mirror made her pause and wonder if she was pushing Jack too far. Of course, this only made her want to see what happened more and, without further ado, she grabbed the clothes she'd taken off and pushed the door open, walking out backwards, using her back to keep the door from slamming in her face as both hadn dumped the clothing on the floor just through the door.  
  
Jack was on the bed, unopened Chinese take away sitting on the mattress. Coughing, gently and still pretending it was due to a sore throat, Irina forced him to acknowledge her. Looking up, she caught the shocked look and grinned, in spite of the nerves she felt creeping up on her. After a moment's staring, Jack's face turned back to a glare and, not ready to give her the pleasure of commenting on her chosen apparel, he spoke, "I got Chinese for the both of us and then I figure bed to try to get over the jet lag."  
  
It was an awkward sentence to say the least, it sounded far too much like something a husband should say to his wife that Jack had trouble pulling it off. Nonetheless, he did and watched as Irina positioned herself on the other side of the bed, the food between them and silently looked over it, grabbing a box and opening it up, she took a whiff before beginning to eat. A playfully secretive grin remaining on her lips the entire time.  
  
Jack just watched her for a minute or two before picking up the remaining box and beginning on it. He'd been hesitant on ordering without her as he wasn't sure what to get. As Laura, he remembered her having a taste for Chinese, whether or not this was something true to Irina he didn't know but he decided it was his best bet and had ordered the two most expensive along with Singapore Noodles in each.  
  
They ate mostly in silence, Jack commenting on Irina returning with Sydney and Vaughn and Irina assuring him it was a mere coincidence and that she wasn't meddling. Surprisingly, he didn't ask her where she had gone, just leaving her be and continuing to eat. A moment later Jack tried conversation again, "What are we going to do tomorrow?"  
  
But, Irina just threw the question back at him, "I don't mind, you're in charge."  
  
He stared at her a moment, shocked that she didn't have an opinion on the subject and replying quickly, "I was simply asking because you claim to know the area and I don't."  
  
She looked at him, trying to see if he was serious before replying, "Well, the way I see it; we've got four days to spend within the borders of Victoria. I figure, Kendall has us doing this for some reason other than to waste our time," Jack nodded, slightly frightened at how bold she was being, how straightforward, "So I'll be guessing that to get the Dury Book we're going to have to have records of being tourists. And tourists in Melbourne come here for three things, the city, the coast and the forest." Jack nodded again, agreeing. "In my opinion Chris Pearson would take the family to the city tomorrow." She smiled a little and looked down.  
  
Jack saw her look down for the first time during the meal and took his chance to look her over, his mind denying it while he took her all in. Tiny wisps of hair had escaped and came down to frame her face with little brown spirals, her face had a wet, clean look about it and her neck and shoulders were still, somehow, glinting with water. Looking further down he saw the red towel folding around her perfectly, revealing the curves he'd loved her for, but nothing more. Throughout the meal, the towel had slowly moved up from her knees and was now sitting about a third of the way down her thighs Jack had no idea how he hadn't seen them as physically superior during their marriage and suspected her because of them. They were lean and toned but still completely feminine; her calves too were in the same condition. Skimming back up, Jack once again cursed himself for looking but stopped at her arms, admiring them in spite of himself, their strength was obvious, but again it was shrouded in slimness and femininity.  
  
Continuing to look up, he noticed her head was tilted, a second later he realized why; her eyes were looking at him, laughter and knowing clouding out the desire and embarrassment Irina was secretly working to hide. She grinned at him, but didn't say anything, knowing it would only give him a reason to yell and she was yet to work out how thick the walls were that kept their room from Sydney and Vaughn's.  
  
Finishing her meal, she went and stood by the window, looking out over the city she had to tour for the next four days. Considering she was meant to be in a cell, underground and with a lot less to look at, she was doing pretty well. She smiled and felt Jack behind her. Turning away from the lit up waterways and buildings, she saw that he'd managed to clear the bed off without her hearing and she smiled again.  
  
He watched her, waiting for her to make her move, to say something, but she just stared at him, not moving an inch and not even opening her mouth. Eventually, he sighed and looked at her, asking, "You want the floor tonight or tomorrow?" He thought he was being fair, being lenient even; letting her have it every second night and then letting her decide which nights. He glared at her as she grinned, her eyes sliding to the bed and he saw what was coming, but knew he couldn't stop it. He just hoped that he would be able to escape and not end up in the same bed.  
  
"Why do we have to take turns?" she didn't wait for an answer, "The bed is big enough to accommodate both of us, I think it will be fine." He was ready to say no, to tell her to have the bed every night, but he wasn't ready for her next few words, "I mean, as long as you think you can control yourself." It was a trap, obviously, he knew it and she knew he knew it, but now he couldn't say no without telling her that he thought he couldn't keep control, which, he told himself was entirely false.  
  
Conceding, he answered, his voice pained and curt, "If you wish, Irina, but don't try anything."  
  
She grinned and shook her head, "I would never try anything. If I recall it was always you who did that kind of thing." She smiled and watched him, hoping he would argue, just a little, but he didn't, he just continued to stare at her, no longer cold, just looking dead and upset about it.  
  
She smiled, a little sadly, "I'll go and get changed then."  
  
He stopped her with a hand on her arm which, though neither would ever admit it, sent shivers racing through both nervous systems. "What do you plan on wearing, you didn't pack anything?"  
  
She grinned, surreptitiously, "That's what is in the bag." She held the grin while inside she was being torn up, wanting to race away from his hand, but wanting the opposite as well, even though she had no idea what the opposite exactly was. Grabbing the bag, she returned to the bathroom where she dropped the towel and changed quickly.  
  
She returned to find all the lights out but the small lamp beside her bed and Jack lying deep in the bed, the covers coming up to his neck, but Irina sure that he'd taken his shirt off. Grinning, she saw him move another inch to her right and almost fall out of the bed. She walked over to her side and got in, feeling, but unable to see, Jack's eyes as they followed her every step of the way.  
  
He took in the mid thigh length, turquoise night gown, void of sleeves, instead just small straps, that Irina had found and purchased earlier that day It was, sadly, a perfect fit, clinging to her in all the right places and showing the curves even more than the towel, he wanted to glare, but couldn't manage, knowing she couldn't see him in the half dark anyway.  
  
She got in and lay on her back, a moment later the light went out and she whispered, "Good Night."  
  
Not saying anything straight away meant he was breaking whatever they'd built in the last few hours but saying good night meant he hoped she had a good night and Irina could then do anything she wanted with those words so he opted for something more factual, "See you in the morning."  
  
He could feel her grinning and immediately shut his eyes, trying to forget she was even there, but failing miserably as little waves of heat started to fall up and down his back. He frowned and willed himself to sleep, slumber arriving a few minutes later.  
  
Irina just laid there, her eyes open and staring at the ceiling, her pupils finally adjusting to the light so that she could make out Jack's form when she turned her head. There was no way she was going to sleep just yet, and so she just ran over memories and ideas in her head until she felt him relax and heard his breathing becoming slower and more evenly. Smiling, she though to herself, 'this is where the fun begins'. In her past life as Laura she'd always remember Jack for being 'good for warmth in bed', as he put it.  
  
Obviously he had forgotten about his old habits, probably having not slept in the same bed as a woman since she left. She grinned as she remembered waking up many nights as Jack moved in his sleep to encompass her body with his arms, talking but not realizing it. He'd never actually said anything worth reporting to her boss, but she still remembered the conversations he managed while still half asleep and she was desperate to see if the half conscience Jack had changed as much as the fully conscience one had.  
  
Smiling, she waited patiently, the minutes going by slowly, but her mind just playing memories of her old life and a few from her new one for her in her head, as though they were films. Smiling she felt him move, nothing much, but he did moved to land on his back, the covers, she noticed slipping down a couple of inches to prove she'd been right about the absence of a shirt, his neck and the top of his chest glinting a little in the light the view threw them. For a second she wondered why he'd been so careless but then she heard him sigh heavily in his sleep and she returned her full attention to him.  
  
Read and review, you know why! 


	15. Getting out of Bed

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat, then they go on a mission with Syd and Vaughn and then, well just read the story. Like duh!  
  
A/N: I went out today and saw Lord of the Rings and that was an 8 hour thing what with lunch and shopping and tomorrow I have to be up at 5 to go fishing, so be very impressed that I am up at 11pm writing the notes for ALL FOUR STORIES! But hey I love it and I love it because I love all of the reviews I get. I was upset this morning because there were none there, but that was cause the site broke, but when I got back from the movies, there were heaps, so thank you, I love them and look how hard they make me work. Be warned, none of these have been proofed because I'm way too tired, so any major problems, I apologise in advance. Enjoy them and if you don't know how to get more you're obviously brain dead: reviews!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were. If I win tatslotto, ten times, I'll buy them and throw Jack and Irina into a room with a big bed and lots of alcohol and toasters and throw Syd and Vaughn into another room with a lot of hockey tickets and pizza, and a bed.  
  
Chapter Fifteen  
  
She grinned, helplessly as he mumbled something, not understandable, but defiantly, that first of what could last all night. She moved closer, hoping to hear better and watched him, intrigued as he brought his right arm up to slide it under his head, sighing again in a content way she hadn't heard in thirty years. He rolled and ended up facing her, his eyes still shut and his hand under his head moving out a little to lie between them.  
  
Swallowing, not so sure of herself anymore, Irina closed her eyes and whispered, "Jack..."  
  
He responded straight away with a muffled, "Yes?" It was an amazing trait that Irina hoped her daughter had inherited; it was like a magic ball through which all things were clear, through which there were no lies and there were no defenses to hide behind.  
  
Responding, slowly and carefully, the uncertainty growing, she spoke, "How was work?"  
  
It was a simple test; she just wanted to see if he knew what was going on and his answer proved he did, "What work? We're on a mission."  
  
The slippery smoothness of the words reminded her so much of the old Jack while the words made her wonder if he had changed and now was ready to talk about his work, "What mission?"  
  
He grinned in his sleep, the simple, plain smile without defensive maneuvers to back it up took about twenty years off his appearance and Irina felt guilty again, "I don't know." He continued to grin and Irina almost let out a gasp when she felt a hand on her hip. They were facing each other, Jack on his right side, left arm under the covers, hand now resting on her hip, each of his fingers making their own little path as they skimmed up and down over the skin of her hip, all the while on the other side of the material. She shivered and it wasn't from the cold.  
  
His other hand, the one lying between them moved at this point, his hand tangling in her hair as he played with it. Trying to bring the situation back to conversation, Irina spoke, her eyes still closed and her voice surprisingly sweet, "Jack..."  
  
"Hmmmm..." he sounded like one of those men off television, the sensitive males who sits and reads to his girlfriend and lives only to please her, Irina noticed this with growing curiosity. He was exactly the same as she recalled.  
  
She searched for something to talk about, unused to speaking to anyone in there sleep, "How are you?' It was a plain, stupid, indifferent question with a simple answer, or at least that was what she' d thought, she expected a 'fine' or a 'good' or even a 'tired', but not what he told her, his voice dropping lower and becoming more and more quiet.  
  
"I'm good," he began, "Despite the fact that everyone thinks otherwise."  
  
Unthinkingly, Irina asked, her voice humored as she slipped closer to sleep, "What do you mean?"  
  
She could feel him smiling at her, but didn't comment, waiting for an answer, "I mean," the hand in her hair moved to her check, a finger caressing the skin next to her eye with a tenderness she'd forgotten. "Everyone, including you," he chuckled, "You all think I'm unemotional, uncaring, uninterested."  
  
He stopped and Irina felt drowsy. She knew she should have been wide awake, with what he was telling her, but his voice, usually curt and cut up, was so incredibly smooth and lulling that the jet lag and the weariness she had been accumulating over her lifetime was suddenly catching up with her and she was so close to sleep. She mumbled an "Hmmmm...?"  
  
She could still hear his voice, just on the brink of sleep, his last words hit her, "But I'm not, in your case especially, I'm the opposite, I just hide it really, really well." She smiled, wanting to look at him but too close to sleep to open her eyes. "Especially with you, with you I can never tell the truth, cause you'll never guess what I'm hiding." The smile on her face was sad, knowing it was all a riddle and a memory of times past when he had been with her in another world and now he was mixing the two lives up. In her last moments of consciousness, she heard him whisper, "you'll never guess what I'm hiding Irina, never in your life." And she felt something wrong, something biting at her, telling her there was a problem, but she had no time to think it over as she fell into sleep.  
  
It was seven am, the sun was shining far too brightly in the second royal sweet as both Sydney and Vaughn had forgotten to draw the curtains and lef the window to be greeted just after six by hard, golden rays of the sun. And now, neither lay awake in the royal red bed, the little lines of light just creeping up on them, little spots of intense heat where the sun was concentrating on the covers of the bed, a spot here, a spot there and one, just moving, tantalizingly slowly towards Vaughn's closed eye.  
  
His eyes flickered as the sun hit him, fluttering open quickly, he looked around. Not daring to move as he felt like he'd just woken from the best dream and now all he had to do was close his eyes to return. He felt unusually warm, but not hot, more of a tingling warm that began at his toes and ended at the tips of his ruffled hair. He smiled and closed his eyes, wriggling his toes, one by one and loving the feel of the velvet on them.  
  
He flexed his shoulders as he remembered where he was and why and suddenly he froze, the reason for the warmth and the incredible feeling of complete bliss sweeping back over him, his flexing back ran into a pair of hands that couldn't be his as they were up high, one near his hair. His chest which had moved less than an inch moved with some trouble as he looked down to find a head, no doubt Sydney's, lying there. He grinned in spite of himself and sighed, heavily but careful not to move another inch, just happy to be there and not under anyone's scrutiny.  
  
He could feel her pressed against him, her arms both around his neck and one hand going down to the centre of his back, just across from his shoulders and the other up to the nape of his neck. One of her legs had someone wriggled between his and he could feel the heat radiating off it, through the pants, he wished weren't there. She nuzzled in further and he held his breath, wondering if she would wake up, but she didn't and he went back to investigating the position of her limbs.  
  
The length of her was against him and it felt better than he had even imagined possible, all the pleasure countless girlfriends had managed to bring were gone and they both still had their clothes on. She moved her feet as he thought and he could feel them, cold and slim, next to his. He smiled again, completely taken with how he had woken up. He rolled his shoulders, proud and feeling like he could take on the world.  
  
For a second he wondered at the CIA's protocol, it was rubbish, he decided; this felt great and he was ready to work twice as hard if it meant more missions like this, but then he realized where his arms were and a cheeky grin took over, one was around her back, his hand resting on the small of her back having crept under the shirt she'd stolen from him and his other was a little lower. Sadly, he removed it, trying not to imagine the injuries he would be stuck with if she'd woken first. He grinned again at the thought, knowing it would have been worth it anyway.  
  
He stretched again and started tracing lazy circles up and down her back, his hand exploring carefully, taking every scar and curve in and committing them to memory. He smiled but stiffened when he felt her take a deep breath and her head raise to look at him, disorientated and confused. By the look of her it took about ten seconds for the truth to settle in.  
  
She had awoken to the most amazing feeling, like waking up and realizing it was the weekend, but a thousand times better. Like eating chocolate ice cream on a stinking hot day, but a million times better than that. In fact Sydney thought that whatever was causing this feeling must be of another world because she'd never felt it before and never heard it described. She stretched and looked up, there was Vuaghn, totally normal, obviously, another dream she decided.  
  
Until, instead of the usual loving look he gave her a raised eyebrow and a look that said, 'please don't beat me up, it wasn't really my fault and if you kill me now I'll never get to explain.' She just raised her eyebrows higher and stared at him, a second later realizing how close they were and looking back down as she felt a hand that wasn't hers trailing up and down her back like fire and ice all at once.  
  
Gingerly, she moved back and laid down on her back, her left arm still pressed against Vaughn's chest, her feet still tangled with his. She sighed and went to get up but stopped when Vaughn said, "I'm sorry."  
  
She looked at him and realized what the look had meant; still she played with him, eager to see where she could take it, "What about?"  
  
He went red so fast she almost laughed, changing it to a inquisitive smile at the last minute. "Um, you know." She looked at him innocently and shook her head, knowing her hair was against his arm and shoulder and loving it. He sighed and continued, "Getting so close. I didn't do it on purpose." She looked at him, her face suspicious enough to fool him, "You know that don't you?"  
  
She grinned and got out of the bed, her shirt falling back down from where it had crawled up but not quickly enough to conceal a perfectly taunt abdomen from Vaughn and a brown, curved back. He grinned from behind her, wiping the look form his face when she turned back, catching him and glaring in jest for a minute before looking at him with a smile, secretly taking in his very exposed chest again while he looked away and out the window.  
  
The city, thirty of forty closely clustered buildings, was quiet, the noise of the cars not reaching these heights, just the screech of fruit bats as the flew past, on their way back to the botanical gardens. The sun was poised, just above the horizon, a perfect red circle, larger than it usually looked, behind the city. It was a perfect view and Sydney stood, still, much to Vaughn's delight without pants on, just looking out, sighing as two more bats flew past.  
  
"It's a wonderful view," she commented, breathing deeply, as if the air was fresh and clean when it truly wasn't having passed through many vents.  
  
Vaughn grinned and replied, meaning quite something aside from the city, "Absolutely beautiful." Sydney turned and grinned, yawning not with fatigue but a happy little yawn as she stretched again, her arms above her, and on her tip toes, giving Vaughn yet another exquisite view.  
  
"What time is it?" she asked, a watch on her wrist, but she just wanted to hear his voice.  
  
"Just going Seven thirty. We don't need to meet your parents for another two, three hours." She wanted to get back into bed and stay there forever , but she knew she couldn't, instead, she chose to disappear around the corner, through the door and into the bathroom where she slipped, a grin still on face as she stepped under the hot water.  
  
Well, okay, I went out and came home and my back hurts and my neck hurts and my fingers and I haven't watched TV in days, argggg, But I love it so review please. 


	16. Getting out of bed on the other side of ...

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
A/N: There you all go, be impressed cause this is becoming hard work, I'm absolutely loving all the reviews, especially Ev's, miakaweasley's, chickyconqueso's, Danielle Smiley-Face's, addicted2alias's, guttergirl11's and well, hell everyone's. Keep it up and you'll get more tomorrow. Also, do we want this to go on forever or should I just get on with it and skip the descriptions and the events of the day?  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
Chapter Sixteen  
  
On the other side of that rat infested wall nothing moved except two chests, rising and falling, perfectly in time as Irina and Jack slept, quite happily, and most probably dreaming, in their bed big red bed. It wasn't for another hour, at exactly eight thirty am, that anything happened when the alarm clock that Jack had set the night before started quickly pinging; it all started happening very quickly.  
  
Usually, Jack woke at seven of his own accord, his alarm clock went off a few minutes later, but he was always up and ready to shower. Most nights his sleep was restless and interrupted each time he woke, tonight it had been different, it had been better than being awake. The alarm went off and his eyes shot open like a bullet, it had been a long time since he'd last heard that sound and it would have sent him moving had he not suddenly frozen, his heart still beating but his mouth refusing take in any air as he saw a mass of black hair in front of him. He swallowed and then gulped, totally shocked.  
  
The alarm clock continued to ring and Irina forced her eyes open as she sighed heavily she noticed two restricting arms snaked form behind around her stomach. Quickly, she tried to remember whose they could possibly be. Of course, the obvious answer took a few second s to come to her and even when it did she was shocked for a few moments longer. Why on earth would Jack have his arms anywhere near her? All she remembered was going to sleep the night before and the conversation that she would be the only one to remember. She swallowed, not ready to move, her eyes searching for the alarm clock but constantly drifting down to where her own arms lay over the top of Jack's their hands clasped together, Irina's weaving in from the top of his and her fingers curling under.  
  
Jack felt her wake up with a jerk, a jerk that confirmed his suspicions of just where and how they lay. He supposed they were spooned, her back against his chest and his head close to her shoulder. Her body followed his, mimicking his as he curved away at the stomach and back in to the knees, one of her legs, her left he thought, had also managed to wind back between his and he could feel her toes against the back of his own bare foot.  
  
He had no idea how he was going to handle this, sure, he admitted it felt good, felt familiar, warm, lovely, but Jack quickly convinced himself that it would have been the same with anyone else. It was simply the sharing of body heat. That was all. Still, he had to escape, and soon. He'd made choices and judgments under greater pressure than this and yet it was now that he seemed to forget how to handle things and he was left with very few choices once he'd gotten rid of the idea of simply running for his life. Mainly because he wasn't going to throw his pride down the toilet so quickly. That left him with two main choices. Do it the rough and tough way, throw her out, blame her, get mad, make accusation and start yet another argument. Or, he could apologies and just hope to god it didn't happen again.  
  
A week ago he would have enjoyed upsetting her, but now, he wasn't sure. He felt as though this was his fault and that he should just be nice about it. As though he was the one in the wrong. Probably, he decided, because he didn't want to upset Sydney, and because gaining Irina's trust was a part of his job, sort of. He sighed and saw Irina's back tighten through the material as his hot breath hit her.  
  
She knew he was awake, the pinging was becoming deafening and it felt as though she'd been waiting an eternity for him to do something, anything. Did he know she was awake? She waited, counting to ten, deciding that if she reached ten, she's say his name. Luckily, she only got to four before he spoke.  
  
His voice wasn't anything she could have prophesized, and she had been ready for anger, rage, hesitation, blame, shakiness, anything but what came out, a strong, yet soft voice that quietly demanded an audience while being backed up with sincerity. "Irina, are you awake?" Irina, mouth hanging open, was too fearful of the incredulity her voice would hold if she spoke, so she nodded, feeling her hair press up against his chest and quickly stopping. "Hmmmmm." He was stalling, she couldn't believe it, this was incredible, she wished she could turn and see his face, but knew she would die if she did. "We have to get going."  
  
Irina laughed at him and he cringed back, realizing at the last minute that she would be able to tell. Feeling his move away, she stopped and answered, in her most genuine voice, "What time is it?" The alarm was still ringing, and immediately, both Jack's arms were gone as he saw his chance for escape. Irina felt cold, empty and baron, but didn't comment, turning onto her back to watch him roll over and look at the clock.  
  
"Ten, exactly," he said. "We'd want to hurry. You have the shower, I'll have one when we get back form breakfast." Jack felt like hitting himself over the head, of all the women to be nice to he chose the serial killer. Why the hell was he acting just that little bit more open. For a split second, he wondered if she'd drugged him, but straight away he kicked it out of his head and threw the covers off. He moved and sat up on the side of the bed, running a hand through his disheveled hair and sighing in spite of the messages his brain was sending out which literally read, "Cut it out you stupid idiot."  
  
Irina just watched him from behind, her brow creased as she wondered what had happened; it wasn't a huge change, but it was big enough for her to notice. He was a little nicer, a little more human. It was so...un-Jack.  
  
Seeing he was serious, she got out of the bed, not doing her usual flaunting and just walking straight towards the bathroom, her hair hanging, completely messed up, all over her face and neck. She murmured, "Thanks," and hoped he wouldn't respond.  
  
Unluckily, his newly adopted genuine voice stopped her just meters from the door and she once again wished for a smaller room, "Irina," she turned around to look at him, turned where he sat, still without a shirt. He just stared at her a moment, his awe, she believed it to be, totally open as his eyes looked her up and down once, twice, three times and came back up to look her in the eye.  
  
Jack took her in, he hadn't noticed it the night before but there was a mile long scar trailing from the base of her neck down until it disappeared under the silky material. Briefly he wondered where it had come from before reminding himself he didn't care unless it could be considered helpful to the CIA. Inside he felt as though he was laughing at himself.  
  
Irina raised an eyebrow as the seconds slipped by, Jack not saying anything, but then he opened his mouth. "I'm sorry I put my arms around you last night," It was the most elegant way he could thing to put it but he saw her smirk. "I didn't realize I was doing it."  
  
Irina nodded, understanding, but pushing as always for more, "You're sorry you did it then?"  
  
"No," Jack let it out before he even thought about it for a moment, it just came out and he would have denied it, said it had been a mistake, but she had left, into the bathroom, leaving the door open and he could hear the running water. He shook his head and ran a hand over his face, no idea why he'd said it and even less of an idea of whether it were true and absolutely no clue as to why Irina hadn't pulled the rug out from beneath him.  
  
He walked over to their open suitcases and rummaged through, settling for a pair of jeans and a light blue T-shirt, despite the fact he hadn't worn light blue since forever. He kept an eye on the bathroom, listening to the running water, at times able to hear if she was under the water of not. He threw the cloths on and went over to the mirror on the back of the door; he found a brush and hastily fixed his hair. He heard the water stop and soft footsteps, in the corner of the mirror, he saw Irina, again in a towel, but this time not bothering to try to aggravate him, over at her suitcase, looking for something to wear.  
  
He turned around, god knew why, and asked, "Where are we going today?" Irina looked up startled, she'd expected him to ignore her, that had been the plan, but he was acting as though she was just a good friend, and eyeing her up and down again. She wanted to scream, it was so unusual to see him like this, but she held back, grinning.  
  
"I don't know, I figure we will have to work it out at breakfast." She smiled and pulled out a green dress  
  
She returned to the bathroom and Jack listened for the sound of running water, when he heard it he walked nearer and asked, "Are you decent?"  
  
"Yep, why?" He walked in behind her and looked for his tooth brush, she just stared at him, her own toothbrush still in her mouth and a golden hairbrush grasped in her hand.  
  
Looking back up to find her staring at him, Jack asked, "What?"  
  
She shook her head and finished her teeth, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. She entered the main room with a mortified look on her face. She began to pace, going over the conversation she'd had wit him the night before, was it possible that she'd said something stupid, something to give him a away to outwit her because surly he couldn't have been doing this just off his own wanting to be nice to her. She ran the conversation over and over, it had been too much like every other time she'd done it to him when they'd been together twenty years before. He'd been flirting with her, open and playful, but hey, he probably had no idea who or what she was, and then it struck her. He'd called her Irina. He had known it was her and still he'd been playful and he'd said something important. The lines ran back over in her head and she remembered, "Especially with you, with you I can never tell the truth, cause you'll never guess what I'm hiding", what had he meant?  
  
She heard him shut the door behind him and stopped abruptly, "Ready?" he asked.  
  
She nodded and looked down at the gold watch she'd thrown on, "We'd want to hurry, we're already late," he nodded and opened the door. She breezed past him and out into the corridor where she waited for him. He locked the door and followed her to the next room. She knocked upon the door and waited, knocking again after a few seconds and continued to wait.  
  
Vaughn's voice came out, "Hang on a second," he yelled to the door and Irina turned to shrug at Jack.  
  
"And we thought we were late," he scowled, remembering himself and stopping the smile, turning it up the other way. Irina just ignored him, having known the good humour wouldn't last.  
  
Inside, they heard Vaughn's voice again; this time hissed and not meant to be heard by them, "Sydney! Pass me a shirt! A green one!"  
  
  
  
Oh deary me, look at that, 2000 words already, have to stop there! 


	17. Ordering Coffee

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
A/N: There you all go, be impressed cause this is becoming hard work, I'm absolutely loving all the reviews. So keep it up. Thank you to Samantha for proofing this, um and well enjoy. Yeah, hmmmm not much to say today. Weird.  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
Chapter Seventeen  
  
Irina just grinned like a maniac, until Jack turned around, a glare that could have shattered rocks plastered on his face. Then she just returned her face to its usual composed smug smirk. Jack turned back around to plaster his ear to the door and listened hard; he heard a few whispers but couldn't make anything specific out.  
  
Inside the room, Vaughn was trying to get a pair of pants on without dropping his towel. He'd laid in bed for a while to long and when he'd turned around he'd seen that it was after ten and shot out of bed. He'd gone and had a shower before coming out to grab clothes; typically it had been a sight to behold for Sydney who had been sitting on the bed which she had made, reading her book.  
  
She had glanced up before looking back down, seconds later, what she had seen reached her brain and her eyes came back up to look at him again. Silently she wondered if she would ever get over the image of him half naked, standing in front of her, she'd seen him like this many times in the past twenty four hours and still when he came out of the bathroom, red towel wrapped around his waist, chest glistening in the growing light from outside and tiny droplets of water hanging from every curve and angle, she felt short of breath again. Eventually, Vaughn had moved from his stark still position and gone over to the suitcase; he'd grabbed a pair of pants and was half way to the bathroom when the knock had come.  
  
Sydney had, for some reason been too close to hysterics to answer, so he had, his own voice shaky at what Jack Bristow would do if he found him wearing so little around his daughter, "Hang on a second." He'd then forgotten about getting back to the bathroom and tried to get his pants on, Sydney had a smug grin on her face by now and her book lay, bent in half on the bed as she watched him amused and still not offering him a hand. His jeans were half on and he didn't put it past Jack and Irina to barge in so he had hissed, trying not to be loud enough for people outside, in particular Jack, to hear, "Sydney! Pass me a shirt! A green one!"  
  
Luckily, Sydney did so quickly and Vaughn looked up seconds later to find an emerald green that looked like the colour of his eyes, flying towards him. He grabbed it form the air and put it down, still trying to get his pants done up. Sydney was, by this time, crossing the room, Vaughn just glaring at her as her hand closed in on the handle. He finally got his jeans done up and dropped the towel to the ground. Sydney turned around and gave him a playful look that, at any other time, he would have enjoyed, but right now he was still standing in a room with Jack Bristow's daughter topless.  
  
He quickly swiped the shirt form the ground and threw it over his head, pulling it down to see Irina and Jack poking their heads in through the doorway in a nosy fashion he didn't appreciate. It was only when Jack obtained a tense look of disgust and disdain and Irina a hand to her mouth as she tried to smother a grin, that he wondered why. Sydney turned back to him and laughed outright, her face splitting in two as she smiled broadly at him. Vaughn could have sworn he saw Jack's mouth twitch up, but decided it was merely an illusion and opted to try and work out what the two women found so funny.  
  
His brow creased as he looked around, finding nothing out of place but the towel and eventually looked back up at Sydney, asking her with his eyes what they all found so funny. She just laughed again; her voice sweet and high pitched, and pointed at him. The normal little lines appeared on his forehead and he looked down at himself to find the back of his collar poking him in the chin. Looking down further he found that he was wearing the green shirt backwards.  
  
Irina watched as he turned a deep shade of red and her smile grew, the humour it was bringing Sydney only making her feel better. Jack, of course, stood just off to the side, glaring at the poor man who was currently trying to turn the shirt around without exposing any more skin than he had to. She let her eyes slide to her daughter who had stopped laughing and was watching Vaughn, her mouth hanging a tiny bit open.  
  
Irina's brow creased just as Vaughn's had and she could tell Jack was watching her now, but didn't care. Up close, Sydney looked like this was the first time she'd seen any of Michael Vaughn's skin, but that wasn't right, they'd been swimming for hours in much less the day before. Irina caught a flash of Vaughn's midriff and subdued a grin at her daughter's reaction. She filed away her observations for future reference and pushed past Jack into the room.  
  
"Ready for breakfast?" she asked, acting as though nothing had happened and getting an appreciative glance from Vaughn.  
  
Sydney followed her in and nodded, "Starved."  
  
Irina just grinned, the two men remaining silent. "Shall we?" Sydney grinned and walked back over to her mother, looking at her, she saw an edge of humour before it was quickly covered. Sydney followed Irina out the door and walked beside her to the elevator.  
  
Jack just stared after them, trying his best to make up for the morning's performance of goodness with an extra thread of spite. He glared back at Vaughn before stepping outside the door and waiting for him to put a pair of shoes on. Jack sincerely doubted that anything had happened between Sydney and Vaughn, but still, he liked giving him the cold shoulder, so he figured he might as well.  
  
Ten minutes later, no one had said another word and they were standing outside the most prestigious breakfast café they could find. It was large but with only four tables, extravagant furnishings, polished wood floors, full length glass windows that looked out to the Yarra that lay a story below and at least three knives per placing. They opened the door, it was one of the few cafes with a door and this only made it appear more up market, and walked in. Almost immediately a waiter, complete with white apron, black moustache and French accent, stepping out in front of them. He eyed them over and asked with disgust, obviously deciding they were too cheep to eat at such a place, "Mesdames et messieurs, how can I help you?"  
  
Jack took over form there, "I'd like breakfast," thick American accent, "For the four of us."  
  
The waiter again looked the foursome up and down, "And how will you be paying?" He still made no move to offer them a seat, but his eyes did linger on Irina who was just oozing an aura of splendor and upper class.  
  
Jack grinned, "Charge it directly to the royal suite. Chris Pearson." The waiter looked them over as if he believed this to be some eloquent hoax before nodding.  
  
"I will go and check," he left them together and Irina immediately rushed forward, taking a seat at the largest, most elegant looking table. Close to the windows. She looked back to find the other three watching here, a little undecided on what to do.  
  
Vaughn eventually commented, "Shouldn't we wait?" Irina shook her head quite persuasively and soon she was joined by both Sydney and Vaughn, Vaughn across from her and Sydney to her right.  
  
The waiter reappeared and he no longer shot them any degrading looks, instead nodding to the women sitting and leading Jack over to join them, "Everything is in order, right this way monsieur," he pulled Jack's seat out for him, right beside Irina and with Vaughn to his left. "I'll have the menu brought out to you straight away. Is there anything else you'd like? Any drinks?"  
  
Irina nodded, "Yes, I'll have a café filtré and a café brûlot for my husband," she grinned sardonically at the waiter and waited for Sydney and Vaughn to order.  
  
Sydney stopped looking at her mother and turned to the waiter, "Can I just have an orange juice?" The waiter looked at her, not impressed, so she added, "With a slice of lemon?" He looked at her, openly disgusted but nodded and turned to Vaughn who was smirking at Sydney.  
  
"Just a black coffee please." The waiter nodded, thinking this was a family with no taste, except, perhaps the mother. She had taste, he decided. He turned and left the four, alone in the room. Jack chose to glare at Irina while Vaughn and Sydney alternated between looking at each other, trying to work out what Irina had ordered and staring at the woman in question, a firm smile placed firmly upon her face and her eyes directed towards the window which gave them a view of the hundreds of people walking along the promenade, Australian freckles, sun tans and thongs walking by, the noise blocked by the window.  
  
Eventually Sydney decided to strike up some conversation, the waiter had actually only been gone a few minutes but the silence was deafening to three of the four of them, Irina the only one seemingly unaffected. "What were those drinks you ordered?" she asked with honest interest, both names foreign to her.  
  
Irina looked back around, noting a glare from Jack which she felt was un provoked, but ignored it. "Mine's just very strong black coffee," she smiled at Vaughn, and turned to Sydney, "They're supposed to draw boiling water through an incredibly thin filter covered in coffee. The best is when they do it four or five times. It's always been my favourite."  
  
Sydney smiled and nodded, "And the café brûlot?"  
  
"Ahhh," her mother looked like she was remembering something for a split second but then came back to them and answered, "Your father's favourite, am I right?"  
  
Jack just glared at her, his eyes colder than usual and his mouth closed tight as he waited for her to continue, but she didn't. Waiting for an answer, almost bullying it out of him as all three pairs of eyes focused on him; Sydney and Vaughn, both wondering what had happened the during the night to upset him even more. He ultimately got sick of the attention he was drawing and grumpily answered, "Yes."  
  
Irina pushed harder, the rude coldness he'd adopted, upsetting her especially in respect of the alliance they'd made the night before not to cause problems for Sydney. "It's still your favourite after what, twenty years?" He nodded, curtly and still glaring. "Good," her words were full of spite, perhaps more than necessary but the malice perked him up a little and they would have probably spiraled into another fully fledged fight had the waiter not reappeared at that moment.  
  
Irina grinned broadly and turned to him as he handed the cream coloured, thick menus out. "Anything else?" he asked, mainly directing the question at Irina, positively ignoring all three other guests.  
  
She shook her head, "No thank you. Just the drinks." He nodded and scurried off to the kitchen. For a moment Irina wondered whether it was worth starting up the argument again, but decided not to, instead just opting to explain what the drink was to Sydney, "Café brûlot is supposed to be from New Orleans, but personally I think it probably came from Russia." Another glare form Jack, "It's a strong brew, with spices, orange and lemon." She looked at Vaughn, "You'd like it."  
  
Vaughn smiled and nodded, "You think so?" Irina nodded back as she opened the menu to begin the hard task of choosing her breakfast.  
  
Okay, you see, not a cliff hanger at all, just stopped in the middle because I went over my 2000 words. All of my reviewers who are begging me to raise my bar a little, bad luck, my fingers still hurt from the fish hooks. Lol, thanks again for the reviews and tell me if this is getting boring, I'll speed it right up. Read and review! Ahem, thank you, yes all four tonight, lots of hard work today, been listening to Bond non stop and it keeps me high, along with the coffee, coke, pain killers, morphine, well yeah, anyway. I've noticed that I seem to get just as many reviews if I update two instead of four, so then what would the incentive be for updating al four when I can get the same praise for half, hmmmm? Joking, anyway, please review everything you read, I appreciate it. Thanks again. 


	18. Breakfast

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
A/N: There you all go, be impressed cause this is becoming hard work, I'm absolutely loving all the reviews. So keep it up. Thank you to Samantha for proofing this, um and well enjoy. Yeah, hmmmm not much to say today. Weird.  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
Chapter Eighteen  
  
The waiter returned a few minutes later and hovered beside the table until Irina looked up and smiled at him, signaling that she was ready to order, rushing forward, he leaned over, slyly trying to catch a whiff of her and with pen and paper out ready to write down her every wish. "I'll have the fruit platter, hold the cantaloupe, and then the eggs a la wedgewood." The waiter nodded, obviously happy with her choices and turned, somewhat resentfully to the remaining patrons.  
  
Sydney chose next, ordering strawberries and cream and the Drunken eggs, to which the waiter grabbed the menu back and looked to see if it really was there, funnily enough, it was. Vaughn chose watermelon and a gourmet bacon roll while Jack ordered, very quietly, a berry platter followed by pancakes with syrup. The waiter snatched the remaining menus from Sydney and Jack before bowing to Irina, who fell into character and raised a hand to her chest, as though embarrassed, and handed him her menu, smiling, sweetly before reverting her eyes down.  
  
Sydney just stared at her, "How come he likes you but not the rest of us?" she questioned once he had disappeared into the kitchens. Irina just raised her eyebrows and shrugged, looking out the window at the ferry slowly moving past along the Yarra. Sydney continued to stare at her, silently wondering how to make her answer.  
  
Eventually Irina turned to her anyway and smiled, "It's just my presence. How am I supposed to explain it?" She shrugged again, waiting for another question; instead she caught a snide comment from Jack.  
  
"It's her sex appeal," Irina didn't actually consider it to be snide and for a second her brow creased low at his comment, "She uses it against every man she meets, including waiters." He glared at her again.  
  
Her expression turned to one of disgust, but she quickly hid it and smiled at the younger pair, intent on ignoring him if he insisted on being so cruel. The moment she thought the word, 'cruel' she regretted it. She'd never admitted that anyone could affect her and to say she considered something to be cruel was coming too close. She looked down at the table and they waited in silence for their meal.  
  
When the waiter did arrive, about ten minutes later, he arrived with only one plate along with a drink in tall mug, steam rising off the top. He ignored everyone bar Irina who smiled at him as he set in down in from of her, "Café filter and a platter piled with every colourful fruit available in Australia: watermelon and cantaloupe balls, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, boysenberries, blackberries, pear and apple slices, oranges and little squares of mango.  
  
Irina grinned at the waiter, "This looks lovely, thank you." That was his sign to leave which he did. Jack glared at Irina for a second who act as though she were indifferent while Sydney and Vaughn sat waiting patiently. Irina refused to touch her meal until the waiter returned with everything else. He did so a minute later, placing a plate topped with strawberries drenched in thick cream and a tall glass with what appeared to be freshly squeezed orange juice, complete with a slice of lemon, in front of Sydney. Four thick slices of seedless watermelon and a mug of black coffee in front of Vaughn who nodded in thanks, the waiter only stared back before placing a plate of covered in berries: strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, boysenberries, cherries and a few he couldn't name. He scowled at the plate, possibly because of the colours before looking up to where the tall steaming glass sat, the spicy smell already wafting over to him. He hadn't had one in over twenty years.  
  
Irina grinned at the waiter and he left without further ado, adding on his way that their main meals would be out in ten to fifteen minutes. She smiled again, the look becoming a tad eerie for Jack before looking down an d carefully picking up one of her watermelon balls. She popped it in her mouth quickly, tasting it before chewing on it properly. This only made Jack scowl a little more.  
  
Sydney took a long gulp from her orange juice, obviously appreciating it, and asked, "So mom," Irina grinned, for real this time, "What's on the agenda for today?"  
  
She looked at her fingernails and ate a few berries before answering, "Well, it's really up to your father, but I must admit, we could do just about anything." She glanced at her watch, "We're only going to have to decide what to do and then do it."  
  
Vaughn nodded, slipping into his role of son-in-law more easily than he'd expected, "What's the best kind of thing to do?"  
  
Jack remained silent, studying the conversation form the outside, looking in, he wasn't sure Irina had adopted an alter ego at all, her words and actions not changing but for her accent which turned to French so easily. She started again, swallowing the slice of pear first, "Well, they've got a nice zoo, Luna Park is a nice little amusement park, they've got the aquarium, the museum, shopping at the Paris end."  
  
Sydney interrupted her, "The Paris end, what's that?"  
  
"It's the nice end of the CBD, all exclusive shops. The beach I think we should leave for a few days, wait for hotter weather, and then there's Saint Kilda, that's got some lovely little shops. I mean, it's entirely up to you." She waited for someone to say something but they all seemed content to eat. Vaughn quietly and quite delicately munching on his pink melon slices, Sydney picking up another strawberry and Jack discreetly trying not to enjoy his meal. She smiled, "So what do you want to do?"  
  
Jack shrugged, noncommittally. And Vaughn was the one to speak, "I wouldn't mind checking out Saint Kilda, there was a brochure in our room, seems like a nice place." Irina nodded and started trying to work out how to plan this.  
  
Sydney joined in, her heart intent on shopping, "This Paris End, how exclusive?"  
  
Irina thought for a moment before answering, hand perched beside her mouth, elegantly holding a slice of apple, "The whole thing is exclusive clothes and jewelry, appointments are needed, but I can find a concierge and book." Irina looked hopeful, for some reason, she was eager to spend some time with Sydney in such an environment.  
  
"We don't have enough money." Sydney pointed out the obvious and Irina bit her lip, the CIA had only given them enough to keep up the façade, not to buy thousand dollar dresses. Sydney looked a little upset about this and Irina was tempted, she let her eyes slide to Jack who was watching her intently, not removing his eyes when she met his, still amazed when her defenses failed her.  
  
He saw her plotting something and asked, "What are you up to?"  
  
She looked down, "Nothing, it was just a thought." Jack glared at her, pressuring her with his eyes, not letting her break away, Vaughn and Sydney just watched on, intrigued.  
  
"Chris," she remembered his name and popped it in, "It's nothing," still he pressured her, until she wanted to tell him. She looked around, making sure the waiter was no where in sight. "I was thinking I could grab some of my money."  
  
An eyebrow raised, "What?"  
  
"I have heaps of money in my own account, I could get it out." His look was one of amazement, shock that she would even dream of trying, "It's all legitimate money, there's nothing wrong with it."  
  
"Natasha," the name slipped in like knife into melted butter, and his voice lowered, "You don't think someone would notice?"  
  
Irina grinned at him, "This is one you don't know about." She was referring to the CIA who thought they knew about most of her accounts. She pulled out a normal Australian ATM card, grinning at his look of shock. "Please..." she asked. He didn't say no straight away, mainly because he was shocked, so she continued, "You can go and get it out and you can have the change back."  
  
He shook his head, "Where did you get that?"  
  
Again Irina turned to make sure the waiter was no where in sight, "Simple, I have them at every major airport on earth. There was one at Melbourne." Jack looked at her, wondering how she had gotten away with this.  
  
"How? And Where?" he pushed, leaning in to listen closely.  
  
"You remember that nice young man at the car rental place?" Jack's eyes widened, "He works for me, but don't worry, he has no idea who I am, he just has to make sure he's at the Melbourne rental car place when ever the other nice young man I have employed isn't. He has no idea what me going means."  
  
Jack remembered the smirk the boy had given him when Irina had caught the keys and his face fell. "That would mean you'd have thousands of people just for that reason all over the world." It didn't make sense, how could the CIA not know about this.  
  
"They don't do anything for me except know that if I walk in, place two fingers on the counter and sigh, that they should give me the card. They don't cost much." She grinned, first at Jack and then at Sydney and Vaughn who looked a little stunned. "Promise. Nothing is going to happen."  
  
Jack glared at her. "I should send you back to LA for that."  
  
She grinned and interrupted, "But you can't."  
  
"I know," he paused, believing her for some reason, "How much money is on the card?"  
  
Sydney stared at him, but didn't say a word; Vaughn on the other hand, felt he was right to but in, "What do you mean? Are you considering this?"  
  
Jack didn't say a word, waiting for Irina to answer, "Fifty thousand American. That's going to be about a hundred thousand here." Vaughn's jaw dropped as did Sydney's.  
  
"How many accounts do you have?" she asked, taking the card. She shrugged, "At least one in every livable country, so maybe two hundred and fifty."  
  
No one had any idea she was this rich. So while Sydney and Vaughn gaped at her, Jack saw a way to use this to his advantage. "I'll let you use it."  
  
Her face brightened up momentarily before it fell, "What's the catch?"  
  
Jack smirked, throwing a look at Vaughn who was eyeing him with contempt, wondering, no doubt, how he could dream of letting her have something. Personally, Vaughn didn't mind her and they'd gotten the whole father thing out of the way, but if Jack was falling under her spell, it was getting too dangerous. Jack answered, "Give the CIA access to all two hundred and fifty accounts.  
  
She cocked her head, biting her lip as she tried to work out just how badly she needed that money. "I'll give you access one hundred and eighty of them those of my choice."  
  
He glared at her before asking, just to be sure, "And they all have the same amount on them?" she nodded, "Deal."  
  
Vaughn was shocked, "Good bloody deal," he muttered.  
  
Sydney grinned, in spite of herself, "So we're going shopping then?"  
  
He mother nodded, eating a few of the remaining fruits, carefully swiping a cherry from Jack's plate as she had none. Jack glared at her but couldn't help but have the corner of his mouth twitch up. She was about to say something when the waiter reentered, four plates on his arms with a tell girl behind him. He began to lay the plates down, ushering the girl away with the fruit palters and telling her to return with more drinks. She did so, running back in with a jug of coffee which she refilled Vaughn's mug with and orange juice. Jack and Irina were yet to touch theirs.  
  
The waiter grinned, rubbing his hands together, "Anything else I can help you with?"  
  
Irina smiled sweetly, "Yes, we're going to need to find a concierge, right away." The waiter looked a little upset for a moment before grinning again, showing perfectly white teeth and nodding, rushing back towards the kitchen. Irina smiled as she looked down. This truly was turning into a vacation.  
  
Not a good chapter, I'm getting sick of writing it, I will speed it up I think. Read and review please oh please oh please. 


	19. The Concierge

Chapter Nineteen  
  
The day was fun, no one was prepared to admit that to everyone one else, but Sydney told Vaughn she'd had fun, and Vaughn told her he had too, not that he was sure how he'd managed to have fun, but he knew he had. Irina told Sydney she'd had fun and Jack told himself over and over, trying to work out why and how to stop. About ten minutes after sitting down on the bed and beginning to mentally chastise himself for it, he realized he was getting mad at himself for having fun and quickly stopped, seeing the stupidity.  
  
Breakfast had been difficult, the waiter lingering at the door as they made their way off, having eaten full meals and shared cold stares. He seemed to think Irina had something to say to him and when she turned and waved graciously and with a tinge of flirtatiousness, he was only encouraged into winking and standing at the door as the four of them made their way down the promenade. Vaughn on the outside next to Sydney who walked beside her father with Irina next to the river.  
  
The waiter had tracked down one of the Crown Casino's many concierges and she'd made herself welcome to join them as they finished off their coffees, pulling up a chair and pulling out a clipboard and pen from a bag beside her. "Mr and Mrs Pearson, Mr and Mrs Sims," Sydney beamed at the woman and earned herself a grin in return. "I'm told you're looking for some help."  
  
The woman, Emily, was short and a little pudgy, she had her own beauty and was probably about Irina's age, perhaps a little younger. She had long black hair, much like Sydney's and Irina's at the time and blue eyes, her face was covered in freckles and her persona oozed confidence and cheer. Sydney took an immediate liking to her and led much of the conversation, her mother chipping in here and there with locations.  
  
At the end of it all, Jack was sitting back, looked mad, Vaughn just a little scared and Sydney and Irina were grinned as though they had just shared a dirty little joke. Of course this was not the case, what they had done, was organized the day. It was, Vaughn was sure, the busiest day he'd ever heard of, personally he'd been thinking of spending the entire day at the pool with Sydney, but that was doubtful considering even they kept to schedule, they wouldn't be back until after nine. They were to head to the zoo for three or four hours, doing whatever they wanted and to find lunch if they wished, that would take them up to around two pm when they were expected to head for the central business district, the shops. Emily had made reservations at the fifteen top shops at the Paris end where the women would try on endless amounts of clothes and hopefully find something to buy.  
  
This was the bit Vaughn had not been looking for. After that they were to move further along Collins Street, away from the shops, sadly, and to Melbourne's tallest building, the Rialto where they would go up and eat dinner on the top floor, they'd return to Crown in time for the light's show that occurred every night at eight and then they had allocated themselves free time until the next morning.  
  
They'd headed off, taking the rental, straight away, Jack driving as Irina started writing down account details, even time they came to a set of lights, he'd let his eyes scan over to where her hand continued to scrawl out numbers, dates, places and names, her had to ask, "You're obviously making all of these numbers up." It was exasperating that she be so obvious to him.  
  
She'd snapped her head up, the pair in the back, stopping from their discussion of their favourite animals and turning towards the front to listen. Irina answered with caution, shocked considering the numbers were in fact true. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well look, you're writing them down without even having to think. A hundred and eight accounts, that's thousands of numbers." The light turned green and he went back to concentrating on the road, moving slowly through the mid city traffic.  
  
She looked at him for a second, "I have a good memory." Sydney's eyes narrowed in the back seat, sensing there was more to what her mother was saying.  
  
Jack beat her to questioning her words, "You have a good memory? No one has that good a memory."  
  
Irina cut through him with her words, causing him to swerve around a red van and speed up, "Obviously I do."  
  
Jack glared, there was no way he was going to be able to win this, so he just pushed for more information, "Why?"  
  
"Because it was my job." He shook his heads.  
  
"They're fake numbers," she raised an eyebrow," You're good with numbers then?" She just glared at him, appearing bored, "Prove it."  
  
"Stop acting like a child," she told him, aware they were being surveyed from behind, "And slow down. We do not need to be arrested." He didn't respond but the car did drop back into the flow of the other vehicles, "Jack, I don't need to prove it, just ring through Kendall."  
  
He shook his head, "And what if this is all just to get me in trouble?"  
  
Irina was suddenly aware at how this must have looked as she stopped glaring, "I'm just good with numbers, dates, names, quiz me, if you think I should know it, I will."  
  
Now it was Jack's turn to find himself in hot water, what was he going to ask, immediately, intimate questions he was not going to bring up appeared in his mind and once in they wouldn't leave, he was tempted to ask one, just to be right. But he wouldn't and her voice soon reappeared, silky and teasing, "What's the matter? Nothing to ask? You trust me?"  
  
It wasn't really something mean to say, of course, it was attacking him and he reacted in just the way he was required, shocking Sydney and Vaughn with a question, "What day were we married?" He immediately felt like hitting himself over the head, a feeling she commonly aroused.  
  
She, on the other hand, was just staring at him, as though it was an insult and it was in a way, "It was a Tuesday, because you didn't want anyone to be there."  
  
"Date," he hated himself for asking, but he wanted to see her mess up, typically, these were very easy questions and Sydney almost felt sorry for him as he was obviously floundering.  
  
"Twenty third." It was quite and emotionless, not even teasing but she quickly continued, her voice building with something akin to spite, "It rained, started raining at around three and you carted all the guests into the house, of course, the priest wouldn't fit so you told them all to leave. I remember it ended up just being me, you and your parents, along with the priest. In the living room, the couch was green."  
  
He went to interrupt, to make her stop, winning no longer important, but she raised her voice another notch and he was forced to drive and listen, "We got married and your parents left, you went to cook dinner, a rare occasion, but our flight didn't leave until the next morning. The meal," she shot an accusing look at him as he struggled not to run off the road, the details of that particular night coming back to him with a vengeance, "Was, if I'm not mistaken, left on the stove until the following morning."  
  
Vaughn and Sydney both had a fair idea of why and, while Sydney understood this was not something a daughter wanted to hear from her parents, they were both, nonetheless, intrigued. But Irina stopped, "Shall I go on?"  
  
Jack shook his head and pulled over, spying a bank where Irina could grab her money, hopefully, they wouldn't mind her taking so much out, the concierge had called ahead to make sure and the bank had promised to be able to give them ten thousand in cash, the rest was being put into the check account.  
  
Irina went in along with Vaughn while Jack stayed in the car, pulling out his phone and calling Kendall, it was just going eleven in Australia so Kendall picked up, on the other side of the world, at six pm the day before. "Kendall."  
  
Jack spoke quickly, "I have Intel on Derevko's accounts." His voice was level and professional.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I have the numbers on one hundred and eight, I need you to check one to make sure then I'll fax the numbers through."  
  
Kendall was sounding a little stunned, "How much money are we talking about?"  
  
Jack did the quick calculation, realized just how much cash he was dealing with, "Anywhere between nine and eighteen million sir. Here are the numbers," Jack rattled off the numbers, quickly, listening carefully as he heard the keyboard through the phone.  
  
Kendall's voice came back through shocked, "That's her picture, and there's almost half a million in this account alone."  
  
Jack was silently shocked as well, she hadn't lied except for the fact that there was more money in this one than she'd said, "Yes sir, bye." He hung up as Irina walked out the back, Vaughn trailing behind her, they climbed into the car and he asked, "Everything fine?"  
  
Vaughn answered, "Yes, everything is as she said."  
  
Irina just rolled her eyes as they drove off, heading for the Melbourne Zoo.  
  
The zoo was beautiful, green everywhere, the sounds of birds in the air and full of happy families, though not as crowded as American zoos. They'd walked in and Sydney, Vaughn and Irina had been playing happy families, quite happily, for the last two hours, it was nearing one thirty and Jack was dawdling behind, looking at his watch, waiting for the day to be over, but dreading the fact that shopping was next.  
  
The pace was leisurely and Vaughn and Sydney had once again joined hands, Sydney dragging Vaughn off, much to his glee, to look at this or that, relishing the feel of being able to be seen in public with him. They were in the area of the park dedicated to Africa, they'd passed zebras and giraffes and were on to what could only be described as a cross between a hippo and an anteater. One was moving around, the other two remained asleep, the drowsy pair pressed against each other in the shade. Sydney ooed and arred accordingly as a group of Japanese tourists passed them, but soon stopped the façade and just looked at the animals. Vaughn squeezed her hand and smiled at her, leaning against the railing and said, "This is fun."  
  
He was the first to admit it and Jack shot him a glare from where he'd taken a seat on the bench provided, Irina leaned to the edge, able to appreciate the animals and keep an eye on the actions of the other three people at the same time. She said nothing but waited for Sydney to respond, she hesitated at first, "Yeah, this is one of the better missions."  
  
Jack sighed, exaggerating it to break the moment and Irina was at his side in a moment as they moved on, emerging near the back gate which lead off to big cats, lions and reptiles, lush grass surrounded them and for a moment it was real, for all four; they really were a happy family. But then it was gone and Jack took out the map and made a show of not enjoying doing so. He moved off down the path towards the lions, Irina glancing at Sydney who just shrugged to say she could do nothing to fix his attitude.  
  
The lion's cage was huge, a walkway, narrow and shaped like a hexagon, the glass sides moving away from the walkway at an angle of around 135 and back around to meet above their heads. They walks, Irina by herself behind Jack and Sydney and Vaughn behind her, hands still together. The lions were moving around below, letting loose roars every now and then and playfully running after each other. There were few people up there with them, only a couple who disappeared as they entered and a family down the other end. Still, Sydney took no chances, "They look so large."  
  
Stupid comment, nothing she would ever really say, and there was little chance she would be scared of a lion, not really, nonetheless a rich girl probably would. Vaughn saw a chance and took it, perhaps, taking slight advantage of the situation. "You scared of them?"  
  
Irina heard Jack emit what could only be called a growl but ignored him, watching with interest out of the corner of her eye. Sydney played along, "Yes, terrified." Her words were lower, quieter and could never have been heard by anyone but people close by, they weren't for the benefit of the family, they were fir him and Vaughn knew it.  
  
He grinned, slipping his hand from hers and moving to stand behind her, letting his hands rest on her hips. Even this close he could feel himself sweating, his fingers brushed over her stomach, fining it perfectly taunt, "Really?" Sydney couldn't answer, her throat constricted at him being so close, yet again, so she just nodded and then she was being pushed forward, her feet at the edge of the concrete walkway, her body moving over the glass in something like what happened in Titanic but all the more frightening, had she not been a double agent, she would have screamed.  
  
Her eyes slid to where the family should have been and found them gone. She smiled, feeling Vaughn's hands gripping her around the waist; she turned around, standing back up, still with Vaughn's hands on her waist. She smiled at him and heard him whisper, "Sydney," in the way he always wanted to whisper her name, in the way that said he was about to say something important.  
  
Less than ten meters away, Jack was glaring, shooting figurative knives from his mind at Vaughn who had no idea he was there. He could hear them and was ready to go and break it up, he was not only breaking protocol, and he was also saying her name which could jeopardize the mission. He took a step forward but didn't move another inch, feeling an arm snaking around his own waist.  
  
Well, long, loooooonnnnnnnnng chapter, speeding it up a bit too, hope this one is better, say nice things and you will get more, promise. 


	20. Bad to Worse to God Damn Brilliant

Chapter Twenty  
  
His throat constricted, he couldn't speak. Of course this was the effect she hoped for and when he turned his head to glare at her she was tempted to do more, but stopped herself, demanding that she let Sydney and Vaughn have their moment, whatever was about to happen. She, instead, raised a finger to her lips, motioning Jack to be quiet, his eyes narrowed but he nodded she took the arm back, Jack forcefully stepping away from her and returning his focus to the couple, standing far to close for his liking, Vaughn's arms wrapped around his daughter tighter than he wished and their lips so close he wanted to say something. But he chose not to, knowing Irina would see the move and force him to be quiet.  
  
Vaughn continued, oblivious to Jack and Irina who, for all he cared, could have been jumping up and down like maniacs for all he cared, "I need to say something." Sydney gulped, it was visible and he let a slight smile crawl onto his face, leaving his arms around her, he loosened them but she didn't move away. He took this for a positive sign and opened his mouth to continue. He was still oblivious to the parents, but, on the other hand, he was acutely aware of the heat surrounding him, the sweat he could feel on his brow, the hairs standing up on the back of his neck and this caused him to hesitate another second. Sydney didn't interrupt as her throat too dry.  
  
"Sydney," he started again, "I..." again he hesitated, this was ridiculous, look at where they were, with whom they were with, and why had he chose now? Then he looked at her properly and saw her hopeful eyes and threw all caution, both for the mission and for the fact Jack could kill him, to the wind. "Syd," so matter of fact, so casual and then the courage was gone and it came out quickly and hushed, "I think I'm in love with you."  
  
Jack had to refrain from saying something as he continued to feel Irina standing close by. He bit his lip, the sudden announcement by Vaughn sending his thoughts into chaos as the idea arose that perhaps Vaughn was not the worst Sydney could end up with. He shoved the though away and continued to watch, waiting for Sydney to say it back, knowing she must.  
  
Irina just watched with masked glee, finally, something right. She let her eyes slide to Jack's whose were surprisingly unmasked. She was shocked but not surprised to find him looking slightly happy at the forward movement in his daughter's life. She watched him for a few moments longer before realizing no one had spoken a word since. She turned her gaze to Sydney who was standing, still wrapped in his arms, looking about to faint.  
  
Several seconds passed, Vaughn's confidence dripping away with each moment as Sydney just stared at him, her face not giving away any emotion but shock. She looked at him; her eyes tempted to move to her parents but denied their wish as his emerald green eyes captivated her perfectly. She couldn't believe he'd said that, it was like a dream and she had to be sure, she shook her head, as though trying to get water out from between her ears, "Vaughn..." she let it hang, hoping he would repeat it.  
  
Off to her side she heard her mother sigh in exasperation, he had said it; he must have and now he was gone, his arms were gone and he had taken a step back. Sydney was ready to react, to say sorry, to kiss him, parents there or not, but he spoke first, "I'm sorry, that was out of line, I just thought that, well, I mean, your parents said that you were in love with me and..."  
  
She cut him off, eyes flicking to her parents before going back to him. Taking in the shocked look of Jack and look of smugness settled on her mother's face. "My parents?"  
  
Vaughn nodded dumbly, feeling like an idiot, feeling as though his life had just gone from bad to worse in a split second, "I'm sorry, just ignore it." He shook his head and Sydney was in front of him a moment later.  
  
"I will do no such thing," she said, her voice playful and gentle, "Vaughn," he looked up, still looking like a quashed flower, "Hey." He wasn't ready for this, she was scared now, she had no idea how he had managed to get it out, but he had and now she had to. How could she put it, "Vaughn," a disapproving look from her mother forced her, somehow to reconsider her words, she grinned, "Michael," that got his attention, "They were right." Her voice was soft, tender, perfect, he knew that and it took him a moment to get past her voice and into the words.  
  
He shook his head, "What?"  
  
Such a typical male, Irina and Sydney both thought simultaneously, though Sydney was the one to voice it, "Michael," God she loved that name, "I know I'm in love with you."  
  
He looked at her, eyes narrowed to see if this was real, to see if this was some weird trick of fate or if his hearing was buggered, "Me too," he eventually said. And then there was no room for words, her mouth crushed into his, passion and love together as their lips met for the first time. Her hand was on his shirt, caressing his chest where she had grabbed at him to pull him close, her other arm under his shoulder and up into his hair, her fingers torturing him. Their tongues slow as they got to know the territory, the few places their skin brushed against skin like a fire dowsed with water. It was like one of those incredible meals that you never want to leave, a really good movie, an even better book, a million things all rolled into one and then times by a billion.  
  
He grinned as she broke away for breath, letting his hands come to rest on her hips from where they had been touring her stomach and back. She grinned again and was ready for more, ready to stay there forever when a cough made her look up from the lips and eyes she'd been focusing on. She looked over her shoulder to find her dad, dragging Irina along by the hand, standing behind them. The look on his face was laughable had she not been so flustered. "Sydney, get some control."  
  
It was the lamest thing he'd ever said to her, well, it probably wasn't but a deep throaty chuckle from Irina made it seem that way and moments later Vaughn and Sydney were both smiling both at each other and Irina. Jack glared at them, showing his disapproval, "Hey, dad, you didn't want this to happen, you shouldn't have told Vaughn I loved him." Jack glared harder, "I mean, it is now inevitable that you're going to have to put up with us." God 'us' was a great word. Jack scowled even harder, Irina the only one seeing he was silently happy underneath to see them so happy.  
  
Jack nodded as another family strolled into view. "We'll continue this later, " he pulled Irina off by the hand towards the stairs, Sydney's mother throwing a look of joy along with rolled eyes over her shoulder before returning her attention to not tripping over Jack's feet. Sydney just raised her eyebrows and smiled, "Let's go," was all she said. And Vaughn grabbed her hand, the butterflies in his stomach returning with a warmth as they followed her parents out of the lion exhibit.  
  
It was an hour later, without lunch and without any idea of what they were walking into, that the four of them, Irina walking close to Jack, eyeing him with the sole aim, it seemed, to aggravate him and Sydney and Vaughn behind, hands clasped, Vaughn every few seconds taking the courage to nuzzle her neck or plant a soft kiss on her shoulder. Each time, Jack would turn and glare, coming back around to find Irina still watching him as though he was a test subject.  
  
They were walking down Collins Street, the Paris end, admiring the three story buildings; all built many years before and now many with seals that prohibited them from being torn down. The concierge had left them with a list of the shops they could visit and between what hours, they were in order so all they had to do was search for the first shop, 'Madame dans le Rouge', or as all four knew as they all spoke fluent French, 'The Lady in Red'. The aim of the day was not to have fun, Jack kept telling himself, but to appear as a tourist. Typically, that growing in volume voice in his head, only pointed out that tourists had fun once they were running across the road, the small, cream exterior of their first destination in plain sight.  
  
The road was only two lanes as it was from long ago and had never been forced to a four lane road; the traffic was horrendous with cars everywhere and trams among them. The sidewalks were busy too, men in business suits rushing about along with a few magistrates and police men heading for the city courts. They crossed the road quickly, dodging the traffic and ignoring all shouts of protest that drivers were shouting at each other.  
  
The Paris End was elaborately designed and extremely lavish, the entire area was 'by appointment only' and apparently only used by the richest. There was a small intercom near the glass door through which few dresses could be seen. Irina took charge, much to Jack's disgust and pushed the button, 'Hello,' the French accent was killing him, but he wouldn't tell her that, "This is Natasha Pearson, we have an appointment."  
  
The door buzzed open and a reply was quick, "Mrs Pearson, come right through."  
  
She did, her head high again in the same manner as she had used with the waiter, Jack walked in after her and Sydney and Vaughn found their way in quickly too. Once inside they found themselves inside a whitewashed room with mirrors, framed with antique black gold, everywhere. The owner, a Mr Dullard, stood, tiny moustache and bright purple suit almost setting the foursome off into hysterics. "Welcome," he began, looking the four over, "To Madame dans le Rouge, I will be helping you today with all of your shopping."  
  
Irina grinned, "Thank you," she looked around, loving the feeling of power this was giving her, "Your shop is lovely." He grinned and clapped his hands and a scurrying shop assistant, probably a relative, walked out, pushing in front of him a rack of clothes, each dress hung eloquently on it's hanger and ten minutes later Sydney and Irina were in their own, twelve meter square, fitting rooms.  
  
Irina had three dresses, Sydney four and already Jack and Vaughn were casting woeful looks to the door. Sure, both of them wanted to see what the women looked like, Vaughn in particular Sydney and Jack, though he wouldn't admit it, Irina, but they knew there were fourteen shops to go and there was no way out. Sydney emerged first, a floor length red clingy dress with straps that may as well have been invisible along with the back setting off raised eyebrows all around.  
  
Dullard spoke first, "Wonderful my dear," he circled her, "Absolutely stunning," he looked to the two remaining men for a reaction.  
  
Vaughn could only nod, eyes openly hungry, and causing a silly giggle; both Sydney and Jack had been unaware existed in her to escape he lips. Jack was about to comment, his words carefully picked when the remaining door clicked open and his eyes swung around.  
  
Please read and review, I mean, please oh please oh please this is why I get up. And go and read Escape, I swear it is the best fic I ever wrote. 


	21. Simply Delicious

Okay, enjoy this guys, might be the last chapter for a while. Not entirely sure what I'm doing with this, but hey, neither do any of you, lol, well duh. Also, I get millions of reviews for this, which I absolutely love, but I wonder if you guys have read Escape, No gift, No Santa Clause, No Mistletoe and Mission Impossible cause they get fewer review and at the moment I think No gift and Escape are much better than this. Anyway, just wondered if you guys read them, if you do please review, if you don't you'd probably like them. On with the show.  
  
Chapter Twenty-one  
  
The dress itself was simple, no frills or fancy cuttings or layers. It was black though and Irina knew black set Jack off worse than any other colour. That was why she chose it. It had two black straps over each shoulder, thin and elegant, leading down to the back of the dress where it began just below the shoulder blades. There was a thick bronze-gold stripe running from her waist to the bottom of the dress on the opposite side, it didn't stand out but it added to the shape. The neck was low, cutting down low enough to look good but not too low and the material was clingy.  
  
Too clingy in Jack's opinion, it showed off her body perfectly, better than anything he ever remembered her wearing. It clung to her hips and stretched across her abdomen and chest, fitting her like a second skin in places and flowing down her legs to the middle of her calves.  
  
Vaughn was impressed, so was Sydney who had taken a seat next to her temporary husband and was wide eyed and looking at her mother with something mixed between admiration and pride. Dullard clapped his hands together, circling Irina who was reacting with a tinge of red and her head down. Whether this was acting or real, no one could quite be sure. She kept her eyes to the ground, feeling at the silk and listening intently to the compliments she was getting.  
  
"Perfect, this dress was made for you," Dullard spoke, his hands still clasped and his head ducking and weaving to get the angles of vision right. "I've never seen anyone look as good as you and your daughter. Such natural beauty, but this dress..." he trailed off, sighing.  
  
"You look great mom," Sydney commented, sincere though trying to make it look like this was simply the reaction she expected her alter ego to have. "We have to buy it." Irina nodded, letting her eye glimpse at Jack.  
  
Vaughn nodded, "He's right, it is very nice." Irina grinned, three good reviews, but still Jack said nothing and she refused to look at him. An uncomfortable silence followed, spanning only a few seconds as everyone waited for Jack's response, Dullard growing impatient and almost suspicious of the man's decision not to speak.  
  
Seeing he was rousing suspicion, Jack decided he either spoke or risked ruining the operation, he planned on a monotone comment that presented itself as though he was undecided but unable to stop himself he said something quite aside from undecided, "Stunning, honey, absolutely stunning." This brought a grin to both the owner of the shop and Irina who knew perfectly well he wasn't acting and a look of complete shock to Vaughn and Sydney's face. Jack glared momentarily at himself in the mirror. "We must get it."  
  
Irina grinned at him, looking up at him and cocking her head and deciding to play with him, knowing she had the upper hand, "You're sure it isn't too tight?"  
  
Jack would have glared had Dullard's eyes not been glued to him, instead he smiled, "No, I think it's perfect."  
  
He thought he was out of the woods, his compliment should have earned him Irina's silence, but she appeared far too enthralled at his behaviour as Chris Pearson to stop now, "I don't know," she told him, "Do I have the right shoes?"  
  
Jack stared at her a minute, catching the difficult grin she was throwing him and narrowed his eyes, "I'm sure if we don't I can buy you some." Dullard's face lifted.  
  
But Irina still looked unsure, "I don't know, it's very tight around the legs," she motioned to the top halves of her thighs and Jack wondered where she was going. Then she told him, "I'm not sure it would be much use for dancing."  
  
Jack looked at her shocked at what she was obviously asking him to do, she grinned at him and then turned to Dullard who was still maintaining his ethereal smile, "We dance a lot and any dress that I can't dance in would be totally useless."  
  
He grinned and nodded, "I'm sure it will be fine." He promised.  
  
Irina smiled at him, "Still, I want to be sure," she held a hand out to Jack whose eyes lowered to the ground as he tried to gain some more control, the woman truly was trying to win here and he was doubtful she could do it. Still, god knew what would happen should he find himself dancing with her. Irina cocked her head at her husband's hesitance. "Come on, I have to be sure." It was a plea to everyone else but Jack saw it as the tease it was, he glared at her before grabbing her hand roughly and pulling himself up.  
  
It was no longer a problem for her to meet his eyes as there was no way of avoiding them, they were directly in front of her own, "What do you propose we do?" he asked, anger and passion bordering his voice only enough that she would notice.  
  
She grinned, her calm exterior still unwavering despite the fact that inside she'd just melted, "I don't mind, you're the man. Lead." The last word was powerful, god knew why, but it was and it urged him to keep going with the battle, not to just give up and move away.  
  
So he did.  
  
The remaining three watching on: Dullard thinking them simply a passionate couple fueled by money while Vaughn and Sydney once again glimpsed a peek into the tension and passion that still obviously still existed.  
  
Jack grasped her waist with his remaining left hand, the other still holding her as he tried, unsuccessfully, to relax into a position he hadn't been in in twenty years. He moved three steps, slow as he stared at her, defenses down but only revealing anger and passion on his part and amusement and teasing on hers. He got sick of the movement and pushed her away, thankful for the air as she twisted quickly and expertly, twirling three times before stopping a meter from him, their arms stretched but their hands still together, her body swinging in to land, her back against his chest, her arm crossing her own chest to hold onto his other hand, her entire body pressed against his made her delirious and soon both hands were dropped and she stepped back, grinning at him as he couldn't help but smirk, knowing that she'd dropped his hands and not the other way around.  
  
"You are good dancers," Dullard commented, slightly thrown by the unreadable looks the couple was throwing, "And the dress is perfect." Irina nodded, agreeing with Jack as his own head bobbed up and down, unable to stop himself. He continued to smirk, aware he was under the scrutiny of both women.  
  
"I still have two to try on," Irina commented, raising Sydney to her feet. "We'll go and change."  
  
She winked at Dullard who smiled at Jack, "You are a very lucky man, my friend."  
  
Jack stared at him before finding his voice, "You have no idea."  
  
The following dresses had been nice but not as nice as the first two which they purchased, Vaughn ending up with the large blue bag that carried Sydney's and Jack with Irina's. Once out on the streets that continued to the following two shops, 'Fruit' and 'Blue Frame'. Neither shop offered much in the way of dresses but Sydney did find a lovely pair of jeans that Vaughn knew could have been found for a tenth the price elsewhere along with a white top and a handbag. Irina bought herself a hat and a belt, but took little notice in the dresses, content to just watch her daughter as she tried the clothing on.  
  
Vaughn continued to gain confidence with Sydney, ending up walking with her in the front, hands clasped as they talked about the people and environment they found themselves in, knowing that eventually they would have to talk about how to deal with their new found addiction but silently deciding to ignore it and pretend they truly were careless until later on.  
  
Behind them, Jack walked beside Irina, head down, cursing himself for being so daft as to dance with her, but still proud to have thrown her before she could throw him. She was, he noticed, glancing up at him every few seconds, trying to work something out, obviously confused over something and at the same time, still with the smug amusement she always seemed to have.  
  
He eventually got sick of her glancing up at him and said, his voice level, "Irina, whatever it is, I would appreciate it if you would drop it or say it out loud," his voice was hushed so Sydney and Vaughn couldn't hear, "Either way, just stop with the little glances."  
  
She grinned and he glared back, "It's nothing."  
  
That aggravated him and straight away he knew that she was trying to get him to ask her again. He put it off for a few minutes, staring at the pavement as they walked, but eventually gave up, "What is it?" his voice was still hushed but harsh at the same time as he became angry at himself for not being able to ignore her.  
  
She sighed, "I'm shocked," He stared at her, sick of the riddles. "By you."  
  
"Why?" he asked curtly, "What is so shocking about me?"  
  
She smiled, "Many things, but I'm quite amazed that you are happy to see Sydney and Vaughn now an item." She stopped, watching him as they continued to walk, the two in front oblivious to their talk.  
  
Jack was shocked that she had found out that he was happy for his daughter, he had been sure he was hiding it better than most other things, so he tried to deny it, "I'm not."  
  
Irina shook her head, sending tendrils of hair flying, "No, you are."  
  
"Do not presume to know me," Jack told her, "I am most unimpressed that Agent Vaughn decided to tell her."  
  
"Ahhhh, but you told him to," Irina paused, "Remember?" He smiled a little before quickly hiding it, "Is it just that you are happy to see Sydney happy or are you glad it is Agent Vaughn."  
  
He glared at her a moment, a tram rushing past, crammed with people reading the paper in suits. "Agent Vaughn is a lot better than the other possibilities," it was an indifferent answer that revealed no real answer to her question so she just continued to stare at him, not opening her mouth with a response, then he relented, "  
  
I think both really."  
  
She grinned in triumph before continuing, "You like Agent Vaughn," she paused, "Don't you?"  
  
Read and review, I'm rushing to update everything so this isn't proofed at all, this might be my last update for a while because I get my school books today and I have to study them before going back in a few weeks, anyway, hoped you liked it. Not my best, but okay, I guess. 


	22. Vintage 1958

Chapter Twenty Two  
  
He glared at her once quickly before lowering his gaze and grabbing her by the elbow, forcing her to slow down until they were further behind Vaughn and Sydney, trailing by at least ten meters with a dozen people between them. She, of course, just let him lead, smirking at him as she realized she was, once again, winning. Around them, cars honked loudly and people rushed past, many of them dressed in more expensive clothing, as they were now entering the absolute most expensive area of the city.  
  
Looking at her sideways, as though trying to work out how to play his hand, he spoke low and carefully, "I respect Agent Vaughn," he saw her face crease into a look of triumph and continued, smug grin fighting to take over his features, "More than quite a few other men." She scowled and he quickly added, "And you have to remember I do work with Arvin Sloane.  
  
She narrowed her eyes and wrenched her arm from his grasp, "Jack, you can tell me, I won't tell him."  
  
He cocked his head, not looking at her, looking directly ahead, "You expect me to trust you so simply? With out bothering to review the fact that I was under that exact false pretence for twenty years?" She shrugged but let him say more before trying to make him speak what he truly thought, "It seems intelligent for me to go against absolutely anything you imply."  
  
"Everything?" she asked and, with no care as to what he decided, she grabbed his hand, turning it carefully in her own and letting her fingers travel over the slowly ageing skin. "Why would I not simply imply that I hated Agent Vaughn then." He raised an eyebrow, "Ahh...you're not the stupid."  
  
He shook his head, acutely aware of her light, feathery finger tips on his hand as they walked. "No, not anymore." He paused, "Why would you care if I did or did not like Agent Vaughn?"  
  
She grinned, looking down in case that only angered him, her brow creased as she looked up, doing everything in her power to maintain her new look or seriousness. "I figure that he's now got to be considered the lead runner for our," she emphasized the word, "son in law." She looked at him carefully, seeing the small amount of shock before anger clouded over, obviously fake tinged with true humour, something she missed dearly when it came to Jack. "I mean, it would be a huge problem if you decided you didn't like the father of your grand children," he glared at her.  
  
She smiled back. "You are making a lot of assumptions there Irina." She raised an eyebrow and waited.  
  
He didn't respond so she continued quickly, "I can see it happening, can't you?"  
  
Yet another question that he didn't really want to answer. Then a solution hit him, why not answer honestly, he'd tried it with her before on the mission and it hadn't been so bad, why not try it again, it might actually work again, "I suppose, it could be a possibility." The look on her face earned a chuckle though he regretted it soon after, seeing her smile regained.  
  
"I think grandchildren would be nice," she responded, smiling, ready for yet another match of playful banter. She looked at him momentarily before smiling and letting her head rest on his shoulder, he glared at her and she whispered, seductively, "For the show, remember, we're happily married."  
  
He waited a moment, trying to get his voice level and void of emotion, "Irina, I have no time for grandchildren."  
  
She interrupted, "Hmmm," her voice would have been classified by anyone else as dreamy, Jack saw it as suspicious, "But if you did, you'd want some wouldn't you."  
  
He rolled his eyes, but continued to answer without holding back, "I suppose, but things aren't different so it doesn't matter." He pulled away as Sydney and Vaughn stopped in front of the next shop and turned to face them. Jack glared at his wife for a second before turning to Sydney and smiling.  
  
An hour and a half later, Sydney was completely relaxed against Vaughn's side, an arm wrapped around his waist with his draped over her shoulders, as they made their way into the lobby of the Rialto Towers. The building itself was made purely of reflective glass, making it appear blue thanks to the crystal clear sky. Inside, tourist groups milled around, people bought over priced novelty items in the little shop and people waited in line to go up to the viewing deck.  
  
Sydney and Vaughn followed Jack and his wife in, watching with amusement and lazy curiosity as the two continued to throw side way glances, glares, scowls and stares at each other. Had it been anyone else, it would truly have been completely comical, but being them there was a somberness about the entire happening. Jack spoke to the VIP attendant, whispering something in his ear and then motioning to the others to follow him as he followed the young man, dressed in his red uniform towards the lift, he whispered to the attendant standing there and soon after they were standing on the top level, royal red carpeting and oak tables, four of them occupied, all by close couples, sipping wine and picking at each other's meals.  
  
A waiter met them, she was around thirty and seemed wiser than she should have been. She looked them over once, an eyebrow arching before she led them to a secluded table over near the floor to roof windows that looked out over the Yarra and across to the complex they were staying in. Again Irina acted the rich, gracious mother and waited for Jack to help her with her seat. Vaughn took the idea and helped Sydney to hers while Jack paused before hand, only hesitating enough to let Irina throw him a glare that said, 'do it or blow the mission', which wasn't all together true, but worked and he was soon seating her beside the chair he would soon sit down on.  
  
The waitress helped them organize themselves, taking away the vase of flowers that cluttered the table and removing the place setting where no one had chosen to sit. She smiled serenely and handed each a red bound menu with more than ten pages, disappearing with a promise of return in five minutes to take orders.  
  
Each person was settling into the position of happily married character and chattered deliriously about the many bags that they'd left with the attendant down stairs. The day head, in Vaughn, Sydney and Irina's opinion been wonderful, the black dress the best for Irina and a stunning gold one Sydney had found at the last shop topping off her day. Vaughn just decided he liked the lions which caused giggle from Sydney and Jack just sat there, uncharacteristic smug grin settled on his face as he watched them with something more like amusement and anticipation than anything else.  
  
Irina was quick to realize this but chose to ignore it, knowing he would either explain eventually or that it would come to light by itself, either way, she was a patient woman and she could wait. The waitress came back as promised and took their orders, each grabbing the most elegant and large meal they could handle as none had eaten for hours and hours. Even Jack picked things he wasn't expected to, surprising Irina and arousing more and more suspicion, causing her patient to wane quickly.  
  
The view was grand and they spent several minutes discussing and pointing out the tiny bundles of lights in the distance, the planes in the sky and the magnificent light and water shows going on in front of the Crown Promenade, explosions of flame, ten meter high spouts of water and flashing purple, blue and green against he water which lay beside it. They smiled and played the happily while each mind was, in all honesty weighed down with issues they had yet to bring up.  
  
Vaughn was obviously nervous about the night ahead, not sure what was going to happen and not sure what he was prepared to do. Especially with the parents a wall apart and a door away. He wasn't sure where they now stood, what with protocol and the fact that every day Sydney put her life on the line and most importantly he wasn't sure if he could live without what he now had, should it come to that.  
  
Sydney was worried not only in the same ways as Vaughn but about her parents, the spark was burning holes everywhere they went, for that matter, it could no longer be considered a spark, but perhaps, a very large bon fire. It wasn't that she was worried about their control; she figured that such well trained spies could handle it, but she was worried about the tension, some time soon, the air around them was going to become unbreathable and she wondered what would happen then. She smirked every now and then at the possibilities of such a happening.  
  
Irina was slightly worried at how daft her daughter might be, now that love was a defiant between them, should they be so dumb as to assume invincibility, there was a good chance they would either do something stupid, get themselves killed or fired, or all three, in one day. Not to mention the smug grin Jack had was tearing at her faster and harsher than she had expected.  
  
Jack wasn't too worried about any of the others, he was terrified hat he had just made a mistake, what he'd planned had been on impulse and while his instincts were usually good, around Irina everything was distorted including his own mind. He waited, the seconds slower than they ever had been for the happening to occur, holding the smug grin with confidence that it was necessary and letting his eyes wander over the three, Irina next to him and Sydney and Vaughn across, as they discussed the weather, the lights, the area, which, in his opinion was quite charming.  
  
The waitress, he saw first, was quick on her feet despite wearing three inch heels and had the wine in her hand. This was a risk, but wasn't everything? And she was playing hard ball, playing with him, so why not just reverse it and try it on her. He knew from past experience that the best way to defeat an enemy was to use what they believed to be the most effective and that, in Irina's case was playfulness and games. This was his first and if it failed last time to rock her boat instead of his and the fact that the coincidence had been there was enough to spur him on.  
  
The waitress approached unnoticed, cradling the bottle of wine and followed by one of the younger waiters who carried the ice box within which the wine would stay. She waited for quiet and Irina noticed the smug grin on Jack's face waver, it was perfect, flawless, perhaps, she decided because it was fake. She looked at the waitress who held out the bottle and, Australian accent in tact told them, "1958 Barbresco Serafino, as the gentleman requested."  
  
Sydney and Vaughn eyed Jack suspiciously while Irina's mouth dropped; much to Jack's happiness, she gaped. And he couldn't resist leaning over, close to her ear, until he was sure she would feel his breath against her ear and whispered, hoping to hell that no one else heard, "You remember the wedding, I remember the honeymoon." It was cruel to do and dangerous for jack to risk, not to mention misleading he realized a few minutes later as it seemed to impose that he enjoyed the honeymoon, which, he now regretted implying as there was no way it could be denied.  
  
Still, it was definitely a point to him, Irina was, utterly and completely speechless for at least twenty seconds, which, while not much for others, was more than she'd ever been with such a slight of hand. Jack grinned, Sydney and Vaughn just looking from one to the other, knowing that, for the first time Jack had just initiated another round of argument via speech and once again the two people that were to be the audience were enthralled and waiting to hear Irina's answer, hoping it would give some clue as to what it was Jack had first whispered in her ear.  
  
Be duh! Two days in a row and I'm supposed to by studying! Oh well, who cares, bugger school, I'll just charge you a dollar each to read and I'm set for life ;) I think. Anyways, hope you enjoy this, it was sort of worked out as I wrote, so if it isn't up to standard well, bad luck . Please read and review and I am telling you, you would all love all my other stories, go and read and review those, they are all S/V, J/I and much like this one. Please go and read them. And review everything you read by anyone it's what keeps a writer going! 


	23. Playing games

Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
A/N: Okay, updating one or two a day, maybe three or all four if I end up with a lot of time, but the chapters are long, so don't complain. If you haven't gone and read my other three, Wish List, No Gifts, No Santa Clause, No Mistletoe (which started as a chrissie fic but isn't really and just got really good) and Escape, go and do so. Reviews people, they are what keep me breathing air. Oh and I found out who that one flamer was, the one person who made me feel horrible. It was my mother, isn't she wonderful and she meant it. Oh well, any review is good so please oh please oh please leave me one! Or else!  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
Chapter Twenty Three  
  
She eventually regained her composure, not to say, she was suddenly on top of things, quite the opposite, she still looked shocked, but she closed her mouth, narrowed her eyes and watched him, trying to exude a sense of control. Admiring his smile as he smirked at her from where he sat. Sydney and Vaughn, she knew were watching with just as much interest as she but, by the looks on their faces, had no or little idea of what had just happened.  
  
Jack's smug grin remained for the time until Irina decided to speak at which his brow furrowed and his gaze lowered as he anticipated every tiny insult or attack he felt she might chose to throw at him. Instead she simply said, her voice without malice or teasing, "Quite so, Jack." And turned back to smile at Sydney. This threw Jack more than anything else could have possibly said and he was left to sit, brow low in concentration and eyes narrowed as his tenacious wife began to engage in probing conversation with the two remaining agents,  
  
The wine was good though and the food almost to match. Each had only the best and reveled in the expensive food, the view perfect and the conversation actually engaging for all but Jack, who continued to sit back, observing and working at the impossible puzzle that sat beside him. Irina too was working at a puzzle, one, many would argue just as complex as her but entirely different. Something about Jack, the man who sat just inches away but was always, always, at a distance unfathomable by anyone, was bothering her; there were several little pieces of intriguing information that she had gathered and now, all she had left to do was put it together. Sydney and Vaughn were enjoying themselves and Irina enjoyed adding little comments here and there, listening and picking up little details she didn't know, but mostly, her mind was elsewhere.  
  
Several times their eyes would lock and they'd just stare at each other, eyes still involuntarily open but clouded heavily with thought and suspense as they raced against each other to work the other out. Jack was enjoying, he had to admit, watching her. Her ease around humans scarily good and unlike what you'd expect of a crime lord just let out. She held the perfect façade of elegance and grace, but he was sure there was something more simplistic and typical under all the confusion, it stood to reason that there must have been and so he looked.  
  
Irina just continued to put it together, working backwards from the assumptions she had in place and seeing what was proved the best by everything she knew. The wine had sparked certain curiosity and, she thought, would be the fatal blow to Jack in the end. He had won himself a battle in exchange for the war. She smiled at the thought, Jack catching her eye and his eyes narrowing. She looked down, enjoying the waves of triumph that Jack was throwing off along with what remained of his defenses. He was being stupid and careless and he knew it.  
  
Irina just gritted her teeth and looked back down, she was going to work this out, she promised herself she was, it all fit together but she couldn't read the puzzle without the last bit, the last tiny thing that she knew. She knew she knew it, she just had to work out what it was. Her mind was taunting her, throwing thoughts of defeat at her as she combed over her memory of things Jack had done and said, there were so few but each held so many tiny secrets that only she could see.  
  
It had not been on the plane, not during the day or the morning, she was sure, when else was there a possibility? She knew he had black hair, it was typical of her mind to remember tiny images that were, alone useless, but he had black hair, pure, greasy black like he had right now, so it had to be on this mission. She'd never seen him with black hair before. When? Another image, his whole face, unusually open and relaxed and his eyes closer.  
  
At this Irina's eyes widened in realization stirring Jack from his smug look as she tried to hide her shock. The night before he'd said something, she hadn't recalled until now, but now that she'd brought the words into her mind it was obvious why she'd told herself they were important. The entire conversation replayed in her head, every one of his words, her eyes going back to a shielded gaze out the window as Sydney and Vaughn talked of something trivial. It was only when she got to his closing statement, the last thing she had heard before falling asleep that she knew she was right and everything fell into place.  
  
"You'll never guess what I'm hiding Irina, never in your life." The conversation had been straight forward, simple and nothing important passing his lips. But together, looking over the expressions, she was sure of her self and adopted her own smug expression, not because she was happy with herself, but because she had to hide the shock and confusion that still reigned beneath.  
  
Sydney and Vaughn were more comfortable after dinner than they'd ever been before. They returned to the hotel via taxi ride, arriving just in time to slip inside and sit down in their seats for the allocated light show. The greens and purples on the ceiling beautiful and ending twenty minutes later. And up until then nothing had passed between them, not a word, Jack and Irina had glared, stared, gazed, scowled and watched each other to the best of their abilities but not a word had passed.  
  
At the end they stood, Vaughn and Sydney looking at them, eyes wide and unsleepy. Irina just grinned at them, she began the conversation, as usual, "Well, the three of you might as well head up to bed; I'm going to go for a swim." Jack glared at her harder, wondering what she was doing, because, if she didn't realize, there was no way he was going to swim, not at this hour, not in this place and most importantly, and perhaps the only thing stopping him, definitely not with her.  
  
Vaughn and Sydney smiled at her, Vaughn's grin particularly large as he nodded his head, "Good night then," he said, aiming the words at the pair of them but his gesture being accepted only by Irina.  
  
Sydney grabbed her handler's hand firmly. "Yeah," she said her mind obviously elsewhere, "We'll see you tomorrow."  
  
Irina stops them as they move away, "We'll meet early, around seven thirty, at our room," she smiled at them, her amusement blatant, "So don't stay up too late, okay?" Sydney's face split in two, she couldn't help it, she had to admit and it was entirely selfish of her to think it, but she did, that without so many bad things in their lives, the two of them would never have met, never have told each other how they felt. She realized that and she just smiled more, knowing she deserved anything and everything that happened that night.  
  
Vaughn just smiled, not a grin, but a guarded, mainly because he was still trying to work things out, and secretive smile as he led Sydney away, leaving the two alone. Irina glanced at Jack who was watching her like a hawk watches a mouse, she smiled before slipping her arm through his and leading him towards the stairs, he went rigid but followed none the less. Irina asked him, "You're not coming out for a swim," his look answered her question as they got into the elevator.  
  
He wordlessly followed her into their room, watching as she grabbed her bag and wordlessly disappeared into the bathroom, she came out, hair disheveled and changed. She smiled at him before disappearing back through the door, bare foot, blue sarong and blue towel draped over her shoulders covering her arms and torso completely. He glared after her, staring into the hard wood of the door before turning to the bed, wordlessly beginning to wander the room, hoping the walls were, once again, thick.  
  
Okay, short I know, but I want to update them all, and I want to do it now. I need to be in bed soon so bad luck, please oh please review and go and read the other three. In particular review Mission Impossible, that's written by Anj this time and for her birthday tomorrow, I would love to be able to hand her a heap of reviews, so give me something to give her. Anyways, more when I get a chance. 


	24. Taken it Slow

Okay, I really want to thank my loyal and good reviewers, so thank you to:  
  
Ev: you are a great reviewer, such long and funny reviews and you are right, it is the calm before the storm. ;)  
  
twin*muse: Love your review and I agree, I had to eventually give Jakc the upper hand  
  
Mandy@TTU, here's your S/V  
  
Shannon, trust me his secret is now a basis for my next chapter  
  
Alexleia Parker, I wish I could update as often as possible, but I just cannot what with school about to start as well.  
  
The Wanlorn, I am sure Jack will reveal more, hehe  
  
miakaweasley, sk8erboichic17, Jade, Intel, Carrie, Samantha, AnikaDerevko, lynn, serendipity112233, star, thank you all for your dedication, I notice you all have given me a heap of reviews.  
  
Sydney, x, Susan, Halley, Christina thank you guys for wonderful reviews   
  
Title: True Lies  
  
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Please Read and Review  
  
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat  
  
A/N: Okay, updating one or two a day, maybe three or all four if I end up with a lot of time, but the chapters are long, so don't complain. If you haven't gone and read my other three, Wish List, No Gifts, No Santa Clause, No Mistletoe (which started as a chrissie fic but isn't really and just got really good) and Escape, go and do so. Reviews people, they are what keep me breathing air. Oh and I found out who that one flamer was, the one person who made me feel horrible. It was my mother, isn't she wonderful and she meant it. Oh well, any review is good so please oh please oh please leave me one! Or else!  
  
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.  
  
Chapter Twenty Four  
  
Jack refused to fall asleep before she returned, he wasn't that stupid but there was little to do in the room. There was a television but all that was on was useless shows that had been aired in the US about two years prior, after about ten minute's of flicking through the five channels on offer, he gave up and turned it off. Until then, no noise had come through from the opposite room and he prayed it stayed that way.  
  
Turning he wandered to the window, telling himself this was for reasons of national security while all the while knowing he just wanted to watch her.  
  
Vaughn followed Sydney into their room and watched her, slightly nervous as she dropped her bag and collapsed onto the bed. He smiled at her and she reached out a hand for him, beckoning him over, "Come here." Pausing a moment, wondering if that was intelligent, Vaughn soon conceded and followed her over, sitting down and eventually lying back onto the bed.  
  
He turned his head to look at Sydney, his sight partially obscured by the red sheets; she smiled at him, grasping his hand between them, watching him for a while before letting her eyes drift away and her brow crease, "Vaughn..." she waited for a response.  
  
"Yes?" he asked, looking at her, admiring the way her hair always managed to fall around her face perfectly and how no matter what she was wearing she managed to look elegant and exquisite.  
  
Suddenly Sydney had no idea what to say, she looked for the words but couldn't find them and opted to question him on something a little lighter, "Do you think my parents are acting weird?"  
  
Vaughn smiled, squeezing her hand, silently wondering what she had really wanted to ask. "I don't know," he watched her carefully for a reaction; "They seem very different when they're together."  
  
Sydney squirmed to find a more comfortable position, "Yeah, I know, it's strange, I've never seen them so..."  
  
Vaughn finished the sentence for her, earning himself another light up your life grin, "Alive."  
  
"Hmmmm," Sydney let her head slide beneath Vaughn's feeling his lips pressing through her hair onto the top of her head, she sighed contently. "Hey, did my dad really tell you to come after me?" She lifted her gaze to wait for an answer; Vaughn just smiled and let an arm circle around her back, pulling her closer to him.  
  
Vaughn grinned and took a breath, knowing she was only asking because she was as intrigued as he with her parents, "Yeah, I went in to see her and Jack was there and they just..." he paused, still not entirely sure of what had happened that day, "I dunno, they both reassured me that you loved me and told me that I should tell you the same."  
  
Sydney smiled again, nuzzling into his chest, "It's surprising how well they know me, isn't it?"  
  
Vaughn chuckled, his chest vibrating under her, "It is."  
  
They fell into a comfortable silence, just enjoying the feel of each other and being able to lie like that. Sydney's voice interrupted Vaughn's pleasant thoughts, "Do you think that she loves him?"  
  
Sydney looked up, watching Vaughn as his brow creased low, he shook his head, not able to give an answer, instead waiting for Sydney to voice her own thoughts, eventually she did, "It's confusing," her voice was louder, exasperated, "I mean, how could she be? She's supposed to be some evil woman that no one can love and yet she seems to love the one man that should despise her more than any other." She stopped, quickly raising a hand to her forehead.  
  
"I don't think Jack hates her anymore," Vaughn volunteered boldly. "I mean he pretends to, but I just can't see it."  
  
Sydney laughed, "Hmmm, I wonder, I mean, sometimes I wonder what would happen if he found some way to forgive her. But I know that that's impossible." She looked at him before closing her eyes, "But I just wonder..."  
  
Vaughn drew her closer to him, whispering into her hair, finally able to hold her like this without worrying that the CIA would find out. "I know..."  
  
They lay again in silence, not wanting anything else. Eventually Vaughn realized that they would have to move, get changed and this was what he had initially been nervous about. "What time is it?" he asked.  
  
Sydney dragged her hand up, knowing full well Vaughn had his own watch, "After eleven."  
  
He nodded and pulled away, "We should get to bed," Sydney smiled seductively, but didn't budge. Vaughn stood up, moving away and took a deep breath, "Syd," he stopped, knowing this was going to be difficult, "I know that we just got together and everything but..." he trailed off, noticing the look of amusement flittering over Sydney's face.  
  
She sat up, "I know. Vaughn, Michael," he grinned, "I'm very happy that we can finally admit our feelings, but," suddenly she felt as nervous as he looked, "I think we should wait."  
  
Relief flooded his face and he almost fell back into the bed, "You sure?" she nodded, "Good."  
  
"I figure that after two years of foreplay another few months won't kill us." Vaughn laughed, "As long as you don't decide kissing me is too much, I think I should be able to hold off, the suspense will make it even better." Vaughn nodded before looking at her carefully, obviously planning something.  
  
Silently he kicked his shoes off, leaning down and puling his socks away from his feet, he paused, "I can still sleep next to you right?" Sydney grinned, letting loose a small giggle, "No, now that we're together it makes sense that you sleep on the floor." A mock glare crossed his face before he quickly undid his belt and pulled his jeans off, undoing the top few buttons of his shirt and pulling it over his head, leaving him standing in a pair of boxers. Suddenly, Sydney wasn't so sure waiting was going to be easy.  
  
"Your turn," he told her, slipping into the bed, under the covers, making sure she couldn't snuggle into him until she decided to get ready for bed. Sydney sighed and stood up, stretching like a cat before disappearing into the bathroom, not bothering to shut the door behind her.  
  
Vaughn lay, hands behind his head for another twenty seconds before deciding to follow her, for two very good reasons, firstly, he needed to do his teeth, and secondly, he was hopeful of a glimpse of her with less than his shirt on. He grinned as he moved out of the bed, as quiet as he could manage and followed her in. Finding her bent over the sink, clad only in lacy underwear, toothbrush in her mouth. The mirror above the sink would have warned her had she been looking into it, but she wasn't, instead he stood in the doorway, trying to commit her perfect legs and figure to memory. Smiling, he walked in, still with complete silence and took up position directly behind her.  
  
The first she knew of his presence was a pair of strong arms circling her waist. She tensed as she realized it was him, quickly finished her teeth and stood up straight. Immediately she regretted the movement, feeling his naked chest against her back throwing her into a warmth she was unused to. Looking at him in the mirror she couldn't help but go weak at the knees as she caught the twinkling eyes and silent grin in. He just held her to him tighter, whispering into her ear, "You are extremely beautiful," he paused, "You do know that don't you."  
  
She grinned, raising a hand and placing it on his cheek, she grinned at him and she squirmed, turning in her hold to face him, regretting it again as she felt her breasts pressed up against his chest, playfully he cocked his head to the side, she reared back, her waist still grasped tightly to him, but her torso angled away, this only caused her to flush as his eyes drank her in.  
  
Vaughn just had to laugh as she tried to escape him, her face flushed as he let his eyes wonder over her, taking in every curve and angle, she was truly a goddess and a moment later he decided to voice his thoughts, "Syd,"  
  
She smiled at him, shaking her head, "What?"  
  
"I think you're a goddess," she didn't expect him to be able to have such an effect on her as this but he did and again she felt herself blushing.  
  
She grinned before pulling away, "Does this mean there's no need to wear a shirt to bed?" Vaughn positively beamed as she made for the door, dragging the shirt she had planned on wearing behind her, "Didn't think so. Do your teeth." She grinned once more and left.  
  
Vaughn just looked at himself in the mirror before quickly doing his teeth, running a hand through his hair and returning to the bedroom. Seeing her lying, covers up under her arms, in the centre of the bed, he simply shook his head before turning the lights off and heading over. He leaned over, dragging the covers back, perhaps a little more than he needed to, looking over Sydney's legs and side, turned milky white thanks to the moonlight that filtered in. Carefully he slid in next to her.  
  
Sydney immediately felt warm and comfortable reveling in the feel of him next to her, several seconds later she was in his arms, both of them facing the window, Vaughn's hands on top of hers and resting on her stomach, winding around form behind her. Both had their eyes wide open, staring out at the city as they thought of the day. Tentatively Vaughn kissed at her neck, gently, pressing the butterfly kisses into her skin with ease and reveling in the fact that after only three her neck was angled best to give him access.  
  
He kissed her skin a few more times, daring to go as low as her shoulder, directly next to the black strap and then back up, ending on her cheek as he strained to reach her lips. Eventually she gave in, rolling over to face him and letting his lips devour hers, kissing her intently and focusing on her alone. His movements mirroring her moans as she showed him where to kiss her, how to touch her back but never allowing it to further, content to work with what they had.  
  
They slowly simmered down, their passion still there, but their thirst quenched for the moment, she looked up at him, shaking her head, "I thought this mission was going to be a nightmare," she paused, "Instead it's a dream." He grinned glad to know she was happy. "We need sleep, she announced. Vaughn could only nod, happy to sleep with her in his arms and moments later both were slumbering, their breath in tune and Sydney's back against his chest, their fingers entwined and their lips upturned.  
  
Well, to be honest this was supposed to be a lot of J/I but I had so much fun with Syd and Vaughn I figured that I had enough to go with, lol, haha, anyway, more asap, School soon, so might be slowing down. But I loved this!!! Read and Review people. 


	25. Do you want to

Chapter Twenty Five  
  
Jack sat by the window watching her. She must have been down there for over an hour and not for one second had his eyes strayed, typical, he knew. But she was, he had to admit, an incredible swimmer, she wasn't doing much now but before she had settled down to lie on her back and just float she'd been diving in and out, circling over and over and it was wonderful to watch. Not to mention the fact that she was swimming around, stomach up several times, clad only in what Jack saw, secretly, as a very seductive bikini.  
  
But then, this was something he couldn't blame her for, he didn't have to watch, did he? Automatically his mind came up with a quick excuse; he was watching her because it was his job, national security. Funnily enough a little voice inside his head, the one that was becoming increasingly louder, had to ask whether it was his job to wonder just how silky the skin on her back was. Jack scowled out the window again.  
  
Irina had spent the first ten minutes entertaining the eyes above with playful dives and strokes, but then she'd settled down, lying on her back, completely relaxed with her eyes closed. She had to be sure what she had first worked out at dinner was true, there wasn't a chance in hell she was going to mess this up simply because she hadn't bothered to think about it long enough. But now, after perhaps an hour of thinking the same scenarios over, looking for clues, she was sure, there was no doubt.  
  
Carefully, knowing he was probably still watching her from a window she knew gave a great view, Irina pulled herself up and out of the water, grabbing the towel and drying herself off, ignoring the temptation to show off her legs, to tease him from afar, she simply retied the sarong and again draped the towel over her shoulders, making sure there was no way he could say she was trying to seduce.  
  
Making her way up to the room she tried, desperately to concentrate on getting through the conversation she dreaded but had to initiate. The lift stopped at her level not long after and she stepped out, heading directly to her room, once again fidgeting with the towel, suddenly subconscious at how Jack saw her. Grabbing the handle she took a deep breath before pushing the door open and stepping in, letting her eyes sweep the floor as she shut the door prior to turning to look at Jack.  
  
He wasn't wearing shoes, just socks: that was the first thing she noticed. Of course, the first thing he noticed about her was that her calves looked even more toned when they were wet. He scowled at her, helpless as to where his eyes went after glaring at her face, seeing her mouth twitch up as he looked again at the area above her neck, he realized skimming down over her body was perhaps a little more obvious than the voice in his head had claimed.  
  
Irina thought the silence deafening and quickly cut through it with a question she didn't really care to ask, "What time is it?"  
  
Jack raised an eyebrow, before looking at his watch, "It's just gone eleven."  
  
Irina smiled, but not her normal smugness, "Late...we should get to bed." Jack scowled at her again, any mention of bed reminded him of her body, for some reason he wasn't prepared to fathom. Still, he nodded curtly and walked, or, as Irina saw it, stalked, towards the bathroom. Stupidly he walked far too close to her and was stopped by a hand on his upper arm. "Wait," Irina's voice was surprisingly quiet and this caused Jack to pause.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I want to ask you a question," both were enormously uncomfortable but Irina pushed on, "And I want as honest answer."  
  
Jack didn't have anything to say so he just stood watching her, immensely aware of the hand that rested on his arm, squeezing to keep him at her side but almost mistakable for affectionate. He wasn't about to avoid her so he pursued the conversation, "What?"  
  
Irina looked down, first time he'd seen her do that without knowing their was some personal gain she was looking for, she sincerely looked...shy, hesitant. Looking back up her head cocked to the side and she opened her mouth to speak, but then she closed it, her brow furrowed low in thought, this only rattled Jack further and he was about to ask her again what it was she wanted when she said, far too quickly for him to be sure he heard right and far too quietly for her to truly to have wanted him to hear, "Do you want to kiss me?" Still, her voice dripped with that irresistible accent and the uncertainty that Jack was sure she couldn't have faked was alluring for no apparent reason.  
  
But all he could was stare at her. Of all the possibilities and he was sure he'd covered them all, he hadn't expected those words, that tone or this poise to come from the woman in front of him and it caused him to hesitate in his answer which only brought a small, provocative smile to her lips. Even his answer was easily mistaken for avoidance, which, he assured himself, it was not, "What?"  
  
Irina let her hand leave his arm, the skin of her palm burning with a vengeance. With new found confidence, mainly because he hadn't killed her, she continued, playing with him, "You heard me..."  
  
Jack shook his head, taking a step back, "No, but...what?"  
  
She laughed a deep, throaty chuckle that she hoped would have its desired affect. Unluckily, Jack was quickly rebuilding his superficial defense line and she couldn't tell. "Jack, I'm serious," Irina let her voice slip around in her mouth but forced the honesty that she knew was real onto her face, "I think you do." Her face lost all traces of humour as she looked at him, his mouth slightly open, his brow creased low and a look of complete incoherency taking over his features.  
  
"What?" he stared at her, trying to get his thoughts into some logical order, the only thing continuously standing out was that that little voice kept yelling, 'The answer is yes, you moron,'. He stared at her again, but saw she'd finished speaking. "Irina, I don't think you have the right to ask me that, not to mention you seem to have forgotten the fact that I have made it very clear that I want you dead, I want you solitarily incarcerated, I want you gone."  
  
"Jack," she stopped him, her voice thick and still serious, "First of all you're avoiding the question," she quickly continued, "Secondly, I couldn't be incarcerated and dead at the same time, choose one," she let the smile creep onto her face, "And lastly," he glared at her, knowing he was losing his grip, "You want me to be all these things but I think that perhaps, sometimes, you just want me." He would have glared but for the openness the question portrayed, in both of them. So instead he had to settle for indifferent, just staring at her, wondering what brought this on, automatically, he tried to find reason, "What? Is this some new idea for trying to weaken me? Trying to seduce me? Fool me? Because I'm telling you Irina, it won't work, I don't know what you're playing at, but it won't work."  
  
Irina smiled at him, throwing him again, "Jack, I'm not trying to seduce you," she made the mistake of allowing emotion into her voice and the result was something that Jack could only relate to hurt. "I'm trying to work you out." Irina knew she was slowly loosing her own grip on the situation but didn't care, how dare he believe she would ask such a question simply for some ultimate game plan, did he really hate her that much?  
  
But she was still sure of herself, knew she was right, positive that this wasn't some horrible mistake and that she was throwing caution to the wind for no real reason. So she simply waited for a reaction.  
  
Jack was truly out of his league, he had little, perhaps no idea why she seemed to be being honest and the implications of what she was saying were endless, and yet still, that little voice, continued to speak the loudest, but he didn't give in to it. "What do you mean?" his voice was surprisingly level.  
  
"You're a difficult man," she answered with a slight shrug and the unusual hesitance that she had taken on. "When I came back, I wanted to work out everyone. I know the guards that walk by my cell, Agent Vaughn, Sydney, Kendall, everyone, but you, I could never tell what it was that you were about, what you wanted." Her neck moved as she ducked and her eyes left his, "But then today, it slowly came together and, I'm right, you want me. You don't know, I don't know why, it's just a fact."  
  
Jack expression was incredulous, his mouth tight as he tried to suppress the many things he wanted to say, instead he simply told her, "You're wrong, you know that."  
  
She shook her head, moving away and sitting down on the bed. "I'm not, sometimes, yes, I'm wrong, but not about this."  
  
"Irina," he cut across her, regretting using her name, "You're wrong."  
  
Her head cocked to one side, "Wrong about what?"  
  
At first Jack wondered how she had forgotten what the conversation was about, but then he realized, or more, that little voice told him, that there was no way on earth that he could tell her, look her in the eye and tell her that he didn't want her. "Irina," again that name, "I don't know how you came to this very wrong revelation, but playing games with me is going to get you no where."  
  
Her face became serious again as she said, "Then come here," Clouds of suspicion rose in Jack's eyes, "Sit beside me and tell me that you don't want me." She paused, wondering why she'd chosen the phrase 'want me' it wasn't what she had been thinking down at the pool, but it would suffice, she decided and seeing he hadn't moved, she pushed him that last little bit. "Look me in the eye and say it, Jack, or can't you?"  
  
A single glare was all she got before he looked back to the ground and walked over, firm defiance set in his eyes, "Irina," he said bending over her, his presence huge as she leaned back on her hands, knowing to touch him would be suicide. "I don't have to."  
  
Her face fell as he stood back up but didn't move away, his face empty once more, she bit her lip before trying again, "Then why do you keep looking at me? Why watch me so closely, why is it that you seem to be more alive whenever we speak?" she paused, knowing she was gone, there was no way she could ever take these words back and she had truly lost control, "Don't you notice the electricity? I mean..." she let her voice trail off, not prepared to continue, instead just lying back on the bed, the towel still covering every inch of skin she knew Jack was itching to touch, to taste.  
  
Jack stared at her as she lay back, he noticed the tiny area of skin that was exposed but tried to ignore it, instead continuing to try to string her along, "How could you even guess that I feel like that? After everything?"  
  
She watched him from the bed, "Last night, in your sleep," she reveled in the look of horror that came over his face, "You were...flirting with me. I thought, I mean," she paused, seeing how much this was hurting him but pushed on, "I figured you just thought I was Laura or someone else, but then, just before I fell asleep, you called me Irina, and..." she continued to watch his horror, wincing for no real reason, "Then the whole day, you've watched me and reacted in ways you shouldn't have and..."  
  
Jack threw a glare at her once he regained his composure, "Irina," he paused, "I'm sleeping on the floor."  
  
She could have cried, but didn't, instead hurling herself up form the bed and grabbing his arm again, before he could leave, "No," she demanded, "Not until you look me in the eye and tell me the truth."  
  
Okay, did have a good lot more planned and would write it but I am now banned form the net until the end of the month, so no transcript, no clips, no photos, and a very , very mad me, Life sucks right now, I have to go back to school and sit around doing absolutely nothing for 7 hours a day and put up with my family. I hate the book I am reading and at the moment I hate a lot of other things. If you can't tell, I wrote the above earlier today but now that I sat down and my dad went off at me, I don't think it would be wise, I also had a bit of No gift to update, but I'm not happy with it and unable to touch it without possibly ruining it, so bad luck, live with this. There will be no more updates for like five, maybe six days, and sorry guys, so review this one. 


	26. Shabang

Chapter Twenty Six  
  
That's about when time stopped. The second would be ingrained in both their memories forever more, mainly because of what happened not long after. With her hand grasping almost painfully at Jack's arm, Jack turned to his side, ready to pull away and leave and Irina's entire body curled over as she strained to reach his arm, bent double at the middle form where she sat on the bed. Her neck strained to look up at him, deep glare positioned on her face as she watched him with defiance as emotions she tried to read fluttered over his features.  
  
Jack bit down on his tongue as her nails bit into his skin, she wasn't going to let go any time soon. And what was it she wanted? A simple lie, something he did for a living, something he had managed to do to everyone, to lie to them about not only the world but his feelings, his very core, so why was he avoiding the situation, looking at her but refusing to open his mouth? Perhaps, what happened could be blamed on the little voice who continued to screech with laughter as Jack felt himself running out of options, perhaps later on, they'd blame it on alcohol, despite the fact they hadn't had more than a couple of glasses each and both could counter its affect. Perhaps they'd simply choose not to talk about it.  
  
As he continued to watch, knowing that they'd only been holding that pose, her hand on his arm, for a few seconds, but feeling like it had been hours, Jack went over what would happen if he should give in to the little voice. It was like promising yourself the night before that you would get up at six and then awakening and finding an excuse as to why you didn't have to. And as he looked into her eyes, glaring but not hateful, more angry, hurt, frustrated, all rolled into one and combined with what not only that little voice but also his finely tuned mind, deemed to be passion and desire. He wondered what she was seeing.  
  
Irina was, of course, working overtime to sift through the anger that Jack was throwing at her to find the tiny windows that she hoped would give her access to something different. Staring up at what were usually tiny brown eyes, she was shocked to find what his portraying exactly what she felt, frustration, madness, fury and most importantly an unacknowledged yearning.  
  
Those three, maybe four, seconds were all it took for everything to turn itself inside out, upside down and go to hell. Jack only had to let his eyes sweep over her lithe body once to know exactly what he wanted and he took, not caring for the consequences. He moved quickly, too fast for her to stop or watch or measure, just sliding down over her, knees either side of her hips and his hands sliding independently over her body. Just skimming the surface, one stopping at her waist and the other encasing itself in her hair.  
  
His lips crushing into hers eyes closed as he let his heart take over. Irina reacted immediately, knowing that whatever happened now could very well be turned against her, forgotten, abused, but she didn't care, instead trying to ingrain every movement into her memory for later reminiscence. Funnily enough, Jack didn't do what she expected, instead of forcing his tongue into her mouth, letting his hands roam with no control; she was shocked to find his tongue lightly tracing her lips, asking permission for entry.  
  
She grinned against him, the warmth he was providing enough to make her feel happier than she ever had, and opened her mouth; permission was not something he needed to have. She felt his control slipping, his tongue eagerly exploring a territory still his but unknown for twenty years. And the hand in her hair pulling her closer. His other hand roamed carefully, slowly and tentatively, down low enough to encounter her hip an then across to her abdomen where it stopped, his fingers moving millimeters over her stomach, brushing the silky skin with tenderness she didn't deserve.  
  
His lips left her mouth, moving away suddenly and eliciting a soft moan of loss from Irina, almost quiet enough for Jack to miss, but the air on his face forcing him to acknowledge it and take as a positive sign, quickly filing it away to think about. As his lips left her mouth, his hand left her hair, moving south to her neck where he cautiously manipulated her head to give him greater access to his new aim: the soft skin he'd been watching for days.  
  
Seeing it ready for the taking, glinting in the moon light, his lips soon found themselves against her throat, nipping, nibbling, kissing, sucking, stroking the silken skin as her hands finally found there way onto him. One into his own hair and the other onto his back, trying to urge him closer. Kissing lower, down to her collar bone Irina noticed his hands on the towel that still covered the majority of her body, hastily she raised herself off the bed, smiling again as he threw it to ground and let his lips return to her collar bone. She grinned as his hands both moved to roam her stomach more easily, her entire body on fire.  
  
Finding herself loosing more control than she cared to she made a quick decision and seconds later, found herself on top with him beneath her, her legs straddling him over the waist and the rest of her body upright as she sat trying to regain her breath. 


	27. Falling

Okay, this is confusing, I know and no one kill me, a friend and I thought this up and well, basically, don't blame me. Thanks for reviewing, keep it up. Intel, The Wanlorn, Faith, addicted2alias, astacia, sk8erboichic17, Samantha, Jade, miakaweasley, Christina, serendipity112233, iceskatebaby, star, thanks you guys for reviewing, hope you enjoy this.   
  
Agent-Greenleaf, Kitty, more S/V soon.  
  
Mandy@TTU, I am back. ;)  
  
Halley, if you didn't see that coming, you won't see this coming, ;)  
  
Ev, you're not going to like me much.  
  
X , trust me, Syd won't hear.  
  
Nightmaiden, compromising huh? Lol. Enjoy this one then. ;)  
  
Chapter Twenty Seven  
  
Having seen Irina slip and fall from his position up in their room as she climbed out of the pool, Jack had quickly ran down the several sets of stairs. Now, he dragged the limp body over the overly green grass, dropping Irina, unceremoniously, onto the ground and leaning over her. His sleeves were already rolled up and his breath was coming quick and fast but still his mind was telling him, yelling at him that it was unfair that he had to be the one to do this, to see her slip and fall, never getting up or moving. He'd dragged her over the concrete, making an effort not to scratch her legs and now had her on her back on the ground. Carefully he got onto his knees, checking to see if she was okay.  
  
What if she wasn't? What on earth would he do? It didn't matter, he shook his head, searching for a pulse and finding it; well, at least she wasn't dead. Realizing he should have looked to see if she was breathing first he felt like tearing his hair out. Seeing her chest rising, if only minimally, he looked to her lips, still rosy red and, he could have sworn smiling. Letting his hand hover over them, he breathed a sigh of relief to find hot air hitting his skin.  
  
Gently he tapped her, holding her head in his hands as he tried to wake her, slowly her eyes opened, brown irises staring up at him, through a haze before her lids shut again, "Irina, you can't go back to sleep." She didn't move, "Irina."  
  
Seeing it was hopeless and that even now she refused to listen to him, Jack turned and grabbed her towel, praying that he didn't meet Sydney or Vaughn on his way back to the room, he picked her up, looping an arm under her knees and another under her shoulders, feeling totally shocked and almost embarrassed when her arms moved, apparently by themselves, to around his neck.  
  
Moving somewhat awkwardly, he found his way over to the elevator and got in, pleased that no one else was around he was soon in the corridor that led to their room. A minute later, he was there, laying her gently on the bed before turning and closing the door through which they had just come.  
  
Crossing to the window that he'd been looking out when she'd slipped and fallen, he stared back down, dreading the fact that eventually she was going to wake up. There were far too many questions she could ask that he wasn't prepared to answer. On that note, a soft moan entered his ears and he quickly crossed to the bed.  
  
Irina wondered what had happened, never before had she been about to make love to a man in a hotel room when suddenly he'd been carrying her towards an elevator. And then there was the horrible throbbing pain in her head, near the back but moving forward to create a soft headache that she knew would stay there for at least another day. Opening her eyes again, she saw Jack looming over her and once again she found herself on the bed. For an instant she thought about just continuing on but then decided to try to work out what had happened first.  
  
Groggily, the woman beneath his gaze opened her eyes, only a little as her hand came up to shield them from the light. Seeing this, Jack switched the light off and looked back down. Suddenly he regretted it because she was completely back in control, her eyes wide, her mouth set and looking very much unlike someone who had been unconscious a few moments before. Frowning he moved away without caring for where this left her.  
  
Irina hoisted herself up to a sitting position and watching him for a second before questioning, "What happened?"  
  
"You slipped and hit your head. Down at the pool. Not you're back up here." Jack explained from where he was getting himself a drink for the mini- fridge.  
  
Her brow creased as she sat up further, every second the pain ebbing away and her awareness becoming more and more. "How did I get here?" She asked this not really knowing why but knowing, just by the stiffening of Jack's back that she'd hit a nail she wasn't meant to.  
  
"I brought you up."  
  
"You carried me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
She grinned but soon stopped, realizing how much of the events of her night had actually been a self-conjured dream, everything since the pool. "That was very gallant of you." Watching him she thought of her next imposing question, "How long have I been out?"  
  
Jack watched her for a while, wondering why she hadn't continued with difficult questions and answered, not seeing the trap, "Fifteen minutes."  
  
She nodded, looking around the bed, trying to work out why she'd dreamt what she'd dreamt while also trying to keep the questions flowing, "So you were watching me as I swam?"  
  
The grin made him want to strangle her, but he refrained, knowing that it would probably blow their cover as happily married husband and wife. "I was glancing down; to make sure you didn't try to disappear. Only every now and then."  
  
She shook her head immediately regretting it as the pain increased, still she continued, "Right."  
  
He interrupted her, nearly before she had a chance to finish, "How, might I ask, is it that you came to slip over anyway? You're supposed to be a super spy and yet you can knock yourself out."  
  
She glared at him, wondering how he had found such a sensitive spot. She was always worried that people would realize she wasn't always perfectly graceful and unflawed in the crime world and up until now, no one had any clue that she made normal mistakes. How she was going to answer this, she had no idea.  
  
The answer was straight forward; she'd simply slipped on the edge but, since it would doubtlessly be the first flaw she demonstrated, Jack was going to milk it for all he was worth. Carefully, she tried to answer while keeping her edge, "I just slipped Jack, is it so difficult to see me as a human being with flaws and wants and...needs?" She grinned in triumph as his eyes widened and his gaze dropped.  
  
She smiled serenely, leaning back on the bed and positioning her hands behind her bed. Her head continued to throb while her mind brought back the dream she'd had. Suddenly hot and uncomfortable in his presence, she sat up and went to stand, ready to leave. This was yet another mistake for her day and almost immediately she felt her legs giving way as the concussion took action against her quick movements.  
  
"Whoa," Jack grabbed her from behind, wrapping his arms around her still very bare waist and steadying her against him. He instantly regretted it, feeling her so close yet again was not good for his resolve to hate her and the tiny denim shorts and bikini top were not helping in the slightest. "You have to stay awake, but you can't move so quickly."  
  
Irina wondered why he hadn't let go but something stopped her from asking, instead she just reveled at the hot air on her ear. Unable to see him, but fully aware he was there, she went on "I want to take a shower."  
  
He shook his head still refusing for whatever reason to let go. "No, no showers, not until tomorrow morning."  
  
She swallowed; the heat almost unbearable. "So what do you expect me to do?"  
  
It was only now, as Jack felt her hands come up and land on top of his, her silky arms landing deftly atop his as she seemingly involuntarily wove her fingers through his, that he realized how badly he had it. But then, he only passed the observation off as bogus and tried to force his body to respond to his increasingly demanding internal shouts of 'let her go'.  
  
Weaving her fingers through his should have driven him off, but it didn't, surprisingly she felt his hands squeezing hers and she once again had to imagine what his face must have looked like. Waiting another several seconds, Jack's voice finally cracked through the silence, "Anything you want. You just can't fall asleep."  
  
She nodded, mustering up the willpower to angle her head around to meet his eyes, of course this also demanded that her lips draw ever closer to his and vivid details of her little encounter that hadn't really happened began piling up in her mind. "Anything?" It was useless; she was completely powerless against him, what sort of an answer was that? She looked back away from him, trying to calculate how long they'd been in the hold, possibly five minutes, but it felt like an eternity and an instant as well.  
  
"Anything." His voice was low and dangerous but not like it usually was, this was very different and realizing this, Irina pulled away quickly, letting his hands drop back to his side unceremoniously. His voice evened up but the shock, probably at himself was clearly there, "I mean, anything you want."  
  
She sat back down on the bed, wanting to eradicate any sexual tension left, trying not to look at him and working at finding something that would keep her occupied that didn't include a lack of clothes or a memory of a lack of clothes. Considering this, her options were surprisingly lessened. Remembering something she suddenly blurted out, "Have we got a scrabble board?"  
  
The look he gave was deserved and received with the appropriate downcast look though none the less, Jack crossed to the room service phone and a minute later was sitting, across the room, staring at her, hand to his face and his brow creased low as he pondered her slightly off behaviour. The nock at the door startled them both from the glazed stares and in a second Jack was at the door, motioning for Irina to stay on the bed.  
  
He greeted the young man who peeked into the room while handing over the game. When Jack turned back, Irina had managed to throw a black shirt over the bikini and for that he was thankful.  
  
  
  
Well? What did you think? Please don't kill me, ;) Go and read my other fics, in particular Sharp Minds, Sharp tongues, it's going to me just like this one but different so go and read and review. 


	28. Scrabble and a swim

Okay, first update in forever but it is very long so please enjoy.  
  
Thank you astacia, Jade, Sarah, X, nat, Hermione512, Mandy@TTU,.   
  
J.Turenne, jen, sorry you guys didn't get it totally, basically what I have done is said that everything that happened after Irina left and went down to the pool never actually happened. Vickie here is some S/V and I have to admit you are one of the first ppl I've met who's grossed out by J/I.  
  
Intel, thank you for not killing me.  
  
Halley good to know I am unpredictable and here is your S/V.  
  
star , Colly E , addicted2alias, Sk8er Chick, hehehe, glad to see you enjoying this, here is your S/V.  
  
Samantha , great review, thanks for that and yes, I am evil.  
  
Chapter Twenty Eight  
  
The game was slow, Irina's eyes bright as she tried her best to win and Jack's eyes anywhere but on her as he tried to make the game go quicker, or so he told himself. It was almost an hour later that they found themselves, a few odd letters left on each side, board sitting between them on the bed as she waited for him to make his last and final move. She sat cross legged, elbows on her knees and her chin resting on her hands. Across from her, Jack's body faced away form her, sitting on the edge of the bed, as he fiddled with the three letters left, trying to find just one last place to put them.  
  
Sighing heavily, Irina watched him intently, waiting for him to makes his move, thinking he was out of luck and that there was no move left to make, but not really interested in that. She was most intrigued by the way his hands moved over the letters, his eyes over the board, flickering from square to square, not taking in her scrutiny at all and giving her a rare chance. It was unbearable that she should have to deal with this, her own mind skeptical of relationships and never before had she had to ignore her own passions. But this dream, it had forced her to recognized that perhaps it wasn't just part of her 'plan' that made her play with him, entice him. Maybe she was doing it because she wanted him to entice her.  
  
She was slapped from her thoughts as Jack placed a single letter below another, making a two letter word. She stared at it for a moment before lifting her eyes and shaking her head, "There's no such word."  
  
"What?" he asked, shocked she would bother challenging him.  
  
"You made that word up, what the hell does aa mean?"  
  
He shook his head, a ghost of a smile gracing his lips, "No, I didn't. It's on the Oxford dictionary so it counts." She looked at him incredulously so he quickly continued, "It's a type of lava."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yeah, it's a special type of lava, as in form a volcano."  
  
"You are sure?"  
  
He nodded, "Positive."  
  
Irina shrugged, "Okay," she glanced at her watch, yawning as she noticed it was well after one am.  
  
She was about to state so when she looked up to find his brow low. Looking up he asked, "You don't want to check?"  
  
Seeing what he was really asking, she answered, letting a smile grace her lips, "No. And anyway, where would I find a complete oxford dictionary at this time of night?" The conversation lapsed into a companionable silence with both pairs eyes locked, not to scrutinize, just to watch.  
  
Jack eventually broke the tension, "You think it'll be safe to go to sleep now?"  
  
"Yeah, I do."  
  
It was about at the time that Irina closed her eyes that, on the other side of the wall, Sydney opened hers. She felt Vaughn's strong arm around her completely bare waist and smiled broadly as she snuggled backwards, glancing at the clock on the other side of the room she realized it was only just ticking by one am and yet she felt more refreshed than she had in forever.  
  
She grinned as wriggled just for effect and was happy to find the arm pulling her even closer, his hot breath on her ear and her almost bare back against his very bare chest. "Syd?" he asked, the air on her ear and the husky sleep filled voice sending another shiver up her spine.  
  
"Yeah?" she asked.  
  
"What are you awake for?"  
  
She smiled, "I just woke up. It's only one thirty."  
  
Vaughn nuzzled into the back of her neck before kissing her shoulder, "You know how many times I've wished I could do that?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just kiss you, whenever I want."  
  
She grinned, life had improved more than she could have imagined in the last twenty four hours. "I mean, a few days ago, I wasn't even supposed to look at you."  
  
"And you still aren't supposed to."  
  
"I know, but, I mean, I wouldn't have imagined. I mean sure, fantasized, but...you know?" He snuggled closer.  
  
"You fantasized about me?"  
  
He kissed her back again, "What did you expect?"  
  
Carefully, she turned in her arms so that she was facing him. "We're going to be happy right?"  
  
He smiled, his face becoming serious, "Yeah, no matter what. I promise. If you want to keep this quiet, I can do that, if you want to break this off until there's no more Alliance, we can do that. Whatever you want, I can do it. Okay?" Seeing she looked close to tears he asked, slightly worried he'd done something stupid, "What?"  
  
"Were you always this sweet?" He smiled, kissing her on the forehead as he listened intent on memorizing every word. "There is no possible way I am ever going to put this on hold. I just want you to promise me that you'll never hide your feelings from me. No secrets, I already have enough."  
  
"Deal," he told her, closing his eyes and pulling her to him in a warm embrace, "No more secrets." She smiled, letting her hands wander over his toned back as she shut her eyes and instantly fell back into a peaceful and entirely happy slumber.  
Irina shifted in her sleep, feeling cold despite the warm summer rays beaming in through the window. Carefully she lifted her arm and looked at the time. Happy to see it was only just after seven, she sat up, silently saddened to notice that the reason for her chilliness was that Jack was nestled, back to her, on the other side of the bed. She shook her head, trying to dispel the feelings of misery before wandering, clad only in the slip, over to the window. Looking down her lips lifted slightly as she found her daughter laughing happily below.  
  
Sydney and Vaughn had woken almost simultaneously just after six and, unable to go back to sleep had agreed to go for an early morning swim. Of course, this had been less swimming, more making out than the day before but no one was complaining. Turning away from the glass pane, Irina turned to find Jack watching her and immediately she felt her eyes widening and subconsciously she crossed her arms over her chest. Nodding curtly to him she said, "We're going to the beaches today?" He nodded, not speaking from where he lay in the bad. "Right...We'll have to leave soon so I'll go and take a shower."  
  
Jack watching silently as she gathered clothes form the suitcase and made her way, eyes down, to the bathroom. Just as she was about to close the door his voice pierced the air, "What's going on?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Irina said having gathered most of her composure but still aware that she was disadvantaged due to her feelings for the man.  
  
"Something's going on. What is it?" His voice wasn't harsh but it was demanding; it was the kind of voice that you answered fully and truthfully.  
  
"Nothing is going on." She moved to hide in the bathroom but was stopped again.  
  
"I don't believe you." He paused, "What's happened?"  
  
She had no idea how he had caught on, but he obviously had. He wasn't accusing her of plotting to escape which, in her mind would have been better, and he wasn't getting angry, therefore, she surmised, he was slowly but surly going to work out what was on her mind. He was far too intelligent and perhaps that was what made her react so unlike she should have. "Jack, please just leave it alone. I really don't wan to discuss it."  
  
For a moment his brow creased but then he just nodded and allowed her to move away. He liked to think that since the night before he had the upper hand. He'd seen her vulnerable, and that had to be good but now. Now and ever since he'd hauled her up to their room, something had been off balance between them. But he didn't want o push her, if there was one thing he could be sure of, it was that Irina could wait, she was patient when she wanted to be but then, when she wanted to say, it came out quickly. Either way, pushing the issue, which, he had to say wasn't apparently important to National Security, was going to simply be a waste of time.  
  
Sitting by himself on the bed Jack took time to look over the scrabble board where they had left it the night before, sitting on the ground. Carefully and with a single finger he moved the letters away one word at a time, his brow dipping lower and lower as he realized that many of the words meant something to him. Sighing, he flipped the board and fell back onto the bed. He was exhausted; living with Irina was slowly killing him.  
  
No matter what he told everyone else he knew that ten years with anyone always ended up with memories, most of them, for him, good ones. And any word that had anything to do with those ten years that he had lived with her lies, ay time someone said it or he saw it, he had to remember, the memories coming back through as slide shows, or tiny little clips, idealized and hailed. Shaking his head to clear the images a word he himself had put down, 'floor' which she had then added to 'boards' to summon images he had long since deemed forgettable and even when he had been under the idea that she was a purely good woman, they had both agreed that they should try not to think about those very hard floorboards until they were alone and guaranteed to be so for at least an hour.  
  
He couldn't help the sad little grin from creeping onto his lips as the memory refused to depart until he heard the door slam shut and Irina re- enter.  
  
Down by the pool Sydney had Vaughn pinned against the edge, both of them treading water up the deep end of the warmer pool. Grinning wildly, both pushed thoughts of what would happen to them once they returned home and concentrated on what had, in both minds, already been a two year courtship. Kissing down Sydney's neck, Vaughn had to pull back as his laughter threatened to spill over. Sighing at him, Sydney planted an overly sloppy kiss on his lips and pulled back, swimming away from his and his latent mentioning of Doug the grasshopper. The joke, it seemed was both getting worse and worse while at the same time, funnier and funnier.  
  
Chasing after her, Vaughn soon caught up with her and grabbed her around the waist, whispering in her ear oblivious to the couple standing just outside the elevator, "Where is it you think you're going?"  
  
Sydney grinned, "To cool off." She kicked away form him, wriggling out of his grasp and pulled herself gracefully out of the pool, the image of the water falling from her body making him hesitate long enough to lose his chance to capture her. Scrambling out after her, he chased her across the few meters between the warm pool and the cold before turning, shocked to find Vaughn already within a few feet when she had expected him to still be trying to get out of the warmer pool. He smiled before plowing head long into her, wrapping his arms around her waist as they fell together into the freezing cold pool.  
  
Giggling they surfaced together, swinging around each other as they spluttered incoherently. "It's freezing in here," Sydney said, clinging to Vaughn as she realized that he could stand while she couldn't.  
  
"You think?" he said, sarcasm sticking to his words even while his mouth lifted into a grin that set fire to every inch of Sydney's body. "We really need to warm up."  
  
The grin grew as Sydney understood and moved closer to kiss him again on the lips, her hands leaving the water and running into his hair as her legs lifted to wrap securely around his waist, his hands moving around to keep her from slipping under the water. Grinning she moved her lips down his throat as he mirrored her movements with her, smiling and letting a loose chuckle escape every few moments.  
  
A brisk cough alerted them to the fact that they were no longer alone and, intent on telling whoever it was to bugger off, Sydney forced Vaughn to continue via the hand in his hair. Of course seeing her mother watching them, her lips twitching upwards and her father's eyes gleaming in a very threatening way, she was quick to release his hair and push away, her face burning but the smile refusing to leave.  
  
Vaughn looked up as he felt her stiffen and push away, "Mr Bristow," he exclaimed and then realizing what was going on he tried again, "I mean, Jack, you're up early." He bit his lip and turned away form them to look to Sydney for help. He was unsettled to find her glowing pink, huge smile threatening to break through her professional façade.  
  
"Agent Vaughn," Irina said, "Nice to see you keeping an eye, among other things, on my daughter." She grinned at him before turning to collect the two towels she had spotted over near the other pool. Both she and Jack had arrived just in time to see Vaughn chase Sydney across the grass and into the cooler pool, both having good ears, neither thankful for them at the moment, they had heard the brief exchange and had hoped that it wouldn't go too far.  
  
Vaughn ducked his head and began swimming towards the steps out, he timed it perfectly so that he was close enough to whisper to Sydney, "How long were they there?"  
  
"I don't know," she hissed back, "God, it's like being caught by your parents."  
  
"That's what just happened," he said as he made his way out, careful to avoid touching her while her father was about. Irina grinned at the pair, her eyes glinting with laughter.  
  
"Your towels," she threw the larger black one to Vaughn and the smaller redone to Sydney. "How long have you been out here?"  
  
"Since early," Sydney explained as she let her eyes slide to her father who continued to watch, arms crossed over his chest. Irina's eyes followed and she smiled broadly, not surprised at his resistance to the happiness of their daughter.  
  
"Jack," Irina's voice was low with warning. "Lighten up." It wasn't a playful tone but it wasn't threatening either and for a moment Jack couldn't place it but then he realized it was genuine seriousness, something rare for her.  
  
He scowled as Vaughn did his best to avoid looking at Sydney as she dried herself off. "I mean it Jack, you initiated this." He made no move to disagree or agree he just continued to watch Vaughn like an evil history professor watches the quiet boy with the stutter down the back. "Jack..."  
  
It was a word with a warning, he should have seen it and probably did but he then chose to ignore it, concentrating solely on Vaughn and where it was his eyes were darting. Sydney just watched her parents with interest from her spot, glancing to Vaughn every few seconds to make sure her father's gaze didn't start to burn holes into him.  
  
"It is a very rare occasion for you to admit that I am right," she began, rattling the speech off as though she was addressing an assembly of people. "Honestly, you hardly ever seem prepared to say, 'Yes Irina, you are right'. But it has happened."  
  
Sydney snorted, trying to break the tension, "Really, I never would have thought." Unluckily this only upped the fire filled atmosphere.  
  
"It has happened, but only a few times. Now Jack, think back," for the first time he let his eyes flicker to his wife who continued to stare intently at him, her eyes forgetting the rest of the area and concentrating only in making her step down and let Sydney decide. "Our conversation with Michael, only a few days ago, what did you say?"  
  
He turned completely, Vaughn sighing in relief as his eyes left him and turned on his wife. "I said a lot of things that day."  
  
She nodded, smiling, "Remember Jack I have a very good memory." She paused, wanting to give him the chance but he said nothing, "Michael, do you remember."  
  
Smiling under the pressure of her demanding gaze and Sydney's more questioning one, "Not exactly."  
  
She nodded, accepting the answer and turned to raise her eyes at Jack, "Jack, you said and I will be quoting you so don't deny it, ', Irina's right, again.' And while I could take this as a compliment I'd rather bring the family back to the fact that you were referring to Michael confessing to Sydney that he loved her which would, you and I both presumed, result in her professing back and then eventuate into a relationship. Is this what happened?"  
  
He glared at her, ironically wondering why she had never pursued law, "Yes, that' what I said but I have to admit that with you around a lot of my words come out wrong."  
  
"Care to give any particular occurrences?" He stared at her, trying to find one that wasn't totally humiliating. "Didn't think so. Now I'm sure everything would be much better if you would just get over it." He refused to back down, still glaring around him, "Jack, whatever it is you think is going to go wrong, you're wrong and don't bother dreaming that he's a double agent because I had that checked out ages ago."  
  
Vaughn stared at her, Sydney pulled a hand to her head as she slumped back into a chair, feeling like she was stuck in 'Meet the Parents' only ten times worse and Jack stared at her eyes questioning, "Yes I know, bad Irina. But I had him checked out right back when he was assigned as her handler, not then and never before or after has he been a double so lay off."  
  
Taking a deep breath he hesitated before answering.  
  
Well, that is a very long chapter, you gotta admit that. So please read and review cause the last time that I updated Escape and No gift I got like two reviews for each and that was sorta depressing bit. Anyway. Please. Review. I need something good to wake up to. 


	29. Meet the future soninlaw

Chapter Twenty Nine  
  
"How is it that you had Agent Vaughn checked out from prison?" he asked, seeing Irina's face fall as she had been expecting a breakthrough.  
  
She sighed, exasperated and keeping an eye on Sydney and Vaughn as the pair exchanged quiet glances. "I wasn't in prison when Vaughn was assigned was I? I've been watching, on and off depending on the circumstances, you and Sydney since I had such privileges." By privileges they all guessed she was referring to the time she spent out of prison. "I saw Vaughn getting cozy with the relationship and I had my sources pull everything they had." She turned to the usually confident man, "You have a very clean history Michael." He smiled timidly.  
  
Jack shook his head and turned to leave, having realized yet another of their conversations had turned on him. "Jack, I want you to tell me, to tell us all that you're going to lay off." He turned again and glared at her, "Please, it would mean a lot to me." That was, they all knew, Irina's way of driving a bargain, she was offering herself in indefinite debt to Jack in exchange for a simple promise he'd probably forget, quite often, to keep.  
  
Raising his eyebrows he nodded curtly, "Fine." He remained tight lipped as the four fell into an uncomfortable silence, a young man, looking like a pool cleaner passing through from one elevator to another, staring at them quite openly.  
  
"So," Sydney said, clasping her hands together and trying to relieve the tension, "What's on the agenda for today?"  
  
Irina smiled secretively, dipping her head in a way that was becoming deadly for Jack, "I was thinking breakfast on the way to the beach. I called down to grab us a nice car for the day and -"  
  
"You did what?" Jack asked, cutting across her with a shout.  
  
"I called down to the front desk."  
  
"When?"  
  
"Early this morning. You were asleep and I didn't wan to wake you."  
  
Jack stared at her, stunned, for a moment before she elaborated, "You needed the rest and I figured for you not to feel me getting up you must have been tired. It was only one call down to the desk to get a car. Deal with it Jack."  
  
He stared at her another moment before turning to Vaughn and Sydney with a drab voice, "Go back up to the room and grab whatever you need. We'll meet out the front in ten minutes."  
  
Vaughn nodded but Sydney asked quickly, "Can I have a moment with mom?"  
  
Jack glared at her but eventually realized what he could gain from it and nodded, watching Sydney and her mother wander together over to the other side of the yard before turning to Vaughn with a smug grin. Vaughn stared at him, trying not to whimper as the older man walked over to him and put an arm around his shoulder, turning their backs to the women.  
  
"Agent Vaughn."  
  
"Jack," Vaughn answered, having trouble keeping his voice steady.  
  
"What ever you are trying to make out of your life with my daughter, I can tell you right now it will not work as you will never be haft the person she is. I have no trouble in telling you that I believe that you are simply not worth the affections of my daughter and I hope that you will respect that. I understand that you think you have a chance with my daughter, that with everything the two of you have been through, you have some inane sort of love. But let me tell you, whatever it is you do or you think you do have with Sydney will not last if you are dead.  
  
"She has lost a fiancé and her mother before and I'm sorry for that but I don't think that the loss of another person would kill her and if I think it is necessary that you be removed I will not hesitate to do so. Do we have an understanding?" Jack continued to walk with him, little steps as he tried to remain hidden from the view of the women who could be heard speaking in hushed voices across the yard. Lowering his voice he still refused to look at Vaughn but repeated the question, "Do we have an understanding?"  
  
From across the green as green grass, Sydney and Irina watched the interesting conversation take place, neither could hear a word but both knew the gist of the conversation and the fact that Jack seemed to be doing all the talking only enforced their beliefs. Turning for an instant Irina asked, "What is it you wanted to talk about?"  
  
Sydney looked at her, slightly lost, "Oh, nothing. Dad been giving this speech to every boyfriend I've ever had, I just hope that he'll cut Vaughn some slack cause he already knows him.  
  
Irina snorted, "No chance at that. If I were Vaughn, I'd have started running a few minutes ago."  
  
"That bad huh?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
They both looked back up to try to catch what Vaughn as saying.  
  
"Jack," Vaughn was a little taken back at how harsh the man was being. Sure they had their difference but he had not expected a death threat. "Irina just pointed out you were endorsing this a few days ago."  
  
"With Irina around, listening to me is a waste of time," he told him bluntly.  
  
"You're serious?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You think I would..." Vaughn asked, struggling to keep his voice in tact.  
  
"Mr Vaughn. I am simply telling you what I believe."  
  
"And this involves a death threat?" Vaughn's voice was definitely rising to loud and Jack found Irina raising a knowing eyebrow at him as he snuck a glace to see both women watching him intently.  
  
"Calm down Agent Vaughn."  
  
Irina had to grin as she watched what happened next, the only one standing still as Sydney ran forward to restrain the attacker.  
  
Jack was slightly shocked, though definitely not rattled when Vaughn shrugged his arm away from his shoulder and spat, quite maliciously, "Jack, I know that all you want is the best for your daughter but this is too far."  
  
"I mean it Agent Vaughn, I am not joking." And that was perhaps what made Vaughn move. He knew there was a slim chance of him being able to even get one punch in so he did what he knew would work. He'd always been good at hockey, especially ice hockey and even more in particular with tackles so when he pushed him backwards the force was double what was expected and therefore the distance that Jack believed he had between him and the pool was halved and a second later he was surfacing, clothes drenched and hair messed to find Sydney quickly advancing, Irina's face still indifferent though he could see an expression easing its way through and Vaughn, a man Jack had originally though to have a lot less courage, crouching by the pool.  
  
He hadn't really meant for him to end up in the pool but the sight quickly dispelled the worst of the rage. "Jack," he began his words slow and controlled, "Jack. You know I'm a good guy so at the moment you're problem with me is that you don't want to see Sydney get hurt. I agree, therefore we have something in common. Now I am prepared to be lenient under the circumstances and not repeat what you just said to me to Sydney or your wife but I swear to God, all I want to do is make Sydney happy. I want to do what ever she wants me to do and that's what I plan on doing for the rest of my life. So if you are going to make my life hell for wanting to treat your daughter a goddess, which I believe she really is, I am going to have to accept that because there is nothing that would make me leave her short of death."  
  
Jack couldn't help but stare, turning his head only slightly to see Irina's reaction which was now a grin that would have very well been wider should her jaw have allowed it. About to say something, he was cut off by Sydney who finally arrived, grabbing Vaughn's arm firmly and yanking it to bring his eyes around to hers, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Hmmm?" he asked turning to her, "Oh, I think we've come to an understanding."  
  
Sydney let her eyes slide to her father who was, astoundingly not smoking out of the ears, had she not known better she would have said he was more shocked. "An understanding?" she asked, fishing for some elaboration.  
  
"Yes," Jack answered, "I believe we have. It would appear," he said, trying to appear his normal stern self but failing as he was fully clothed in a swimming pool, "That I have...misjudged."  
  
Vaughn shook his arm as Sydney let go of him, trying to get the blood running again. "We'll see you out the front, in ten minutes." Vaughn looked to Irina who shrugged indifferently and stepped back to let him walk away, silently stunned by his show and little speech of which she was committing to memory as everything continued to unfold.  
  
Jack just nodded dumbly from the pool.  
  
Walking away from the eventful little area, Sydney waited until they were in the elevator, definitely alone before asking him, "What just happened?"  
  
"I promised him not to tell." Vaughn explained carefully.  
  
"Right but if I was to make a statement and you just happened to cough once and I though you meant yes that wouldn't be telling?" She grinned and he coughed and she quickly continued, "Was it basically a 'Stay away form my daughter or I'll kill you' deal?" Cough. "He threatened to kill you?" Cough. "So how did you end up throwing him into the pool?" Vaughn just looked at her, showing her that no amount of coughing was going to answer that. "You managed to convince him you were worthy?" Cough. "Good." Cough.  
  
They stared at each other, grinning from ear to ear as they scrambled out of the elevator and towards there room. Arriving, they continued to talk. "Do you think that they're having an affair?" Sydney asked quickly, quietly.  
  
Vaughn raised both eyebrows, shocked at how the statement didn't actually seem too abnormal. "I don't know, and it wouldn't be an affair. They're still married.  
  
She nodded, biting her lip. "But they're sleeping in the same bed."  
  
"How did you figure that one out?" 


	30. Gossip

Enjoy this little update guys  
  
Chapter thirty  
  
"Oh, a spy has to have her secrets," Sydney answered, tempting Vaughn with a slight smirk and a wink which he couldn't resist.  
  
"I want to know how it is that you have decided, quite out of the blue that your parents are sleeping together." He wandered over to the bed and grabbed a large day bag out from beneath it, leaving it open as he went to fetch various items from around the room.  
  
She grinned, moving to grab the bathing suits they'd packed as she answered, "Mom said something about not wanting to wake dad that he hadn't moved when she'd gotten up, so I figure they must be in the same bad. I mean it's not like she would have expected him to notice had she been on the floor."  
  
She glanced up to see his reaction; a mixture of pride in her skills and thought and she added, continuing to speculate on her parent's sex lives freely, "There's definitely something going on with them. They're worse than we've ever been."  
  
Vaughn turned and looked up from where he was packing, "What do you mean?"  
  
"All that tension, it's think as an elephant's foot. Something shocking. I just have the weirdest feeling about them," she continued talking as she wandered over to him, dumping the clothes into the bag along with a straw hat she'd grabbed the day before. "I just don't know what."  
  
Vaughn nodded, looking up as he zipped the bag shut, "Got everything?"  
  
"Yeah." Together they left the room and walked quietly towards the elevator that would take them out to the front of the building. "You seem to be very quiet about all of this," she prompted.  
  
His head bolted up and quickly his eyes darted about before he answered, voice low, "You think I'll understand them? They should hate each other and by all means they seem to but then, at the same time, there's a sense that they are two people too good together to miss."  
  
She looked at him, shocked he'd say something like that about her own parents and so he elaborated, "They're perfect, the minds, the motives, the ideals; everything matches if you look at it properly."  
  
"You sound as if you've studied this in a course at uni," she commented off handedly as they turned a corner and neared the glass doors, through which Jack and Irina could be seen, standing a few feet apart, apparently ignoring each other.  
  
He shook his head, chuckling. "When you work for the CIA, you can sometimes get bored.You've seen your parents in action, you've told me about them, what they were like in India. I've seen them talking, strategizing and it's incredible. They are on the same wave length. Just like you and me."  
  
She giggled as he wrapped a protective arm around her waist, the pair smiling at the doorman as they moved out to greet the older agents, both of which smiled at them.  
Very short, but I hope you guys like it. I really need reviews cause they are cool, you guys rock for reviewing so keep it up and go and read my other fics, Escape and No gift. 


	31. On the beach

Chapter Thirty One  
  
The beach was hot and sticky just as it always was at this time of year in Victoria; the sand was clean and blindingly white if you looked too long, the water glittered and never ceased to create perfect mirror images of the sky, clouds and sun while the air was still and the views reached far across the bay until the silhouette of the city could be seen, their hotel another tiny stick among the others. It had taken them almost an hour to get to the secluded place but Irina had continued to respond to everyone's complaints with promises of the perfect beach and now that they were there, no one was complaining.  
  
Of course there were no palm trees, no little huts, but the atmosphere was serene and typical of what she had hoped for. Carefully, Irina lay out the patch work mat she'd somehow procured out on the sand, everyone's feet sinking in to their ankles wherever they walked. Looking about Jack tried to find something he could do without needing to speak or look at any of them. He was still overly upset at Irina and not entirely impressed at his daughter and her new 'boyfriend'. Vaughn and Sydney took only a few seconds to decide on a swim and ten minutes later Jack found himself still standing where he'd started, Irina sitting down on the mat, pulling her top over her head and placing her hand over her eyes as she soaked in the sun.  
  
About to lie back and work on her tan, she noticed Jack's somewhat rigid posture and quickly changed her mind, knowing this was her chance to talk and she was not about to miss it. Looking out to the water she saw the two innocent agents playing, quite happily on a sand bar out alongside the rotting pier. Sighing she leaned on her elbows, watching him from behind her sunglasses, noticing his eyes and following their view out into the sky.  
  
It was very rare for Jack to be staring into nothingness but it was most obvious now, judging by his glazed over eyes and his inability to feel her own eyes on him that Irina realized that something was indeed up. "Jack," she asked, taking in the faint jump as he moved his head around to look at her.  
  
"What?"  
  
Irina pushed herself up further on her elbows, trying her best not to seem too seductive in the bikini top while not prepared to put her top back on. "What are you looking at?" she asked, wondering if he would bother to lie.  
  
He turned with his brow low and creased, his eyes darting past her to the sand dunes behind. A shrill scream from behind had him turning to find Sydney being thrown from Vaughn's shoulders, breathing a sigh of relief he had the feeling he had often with Irina, a feeling that he wanted to believe in, that he wanted to listen to but rarely did. This time though, he managed to find no faults or dangers in obliging his heart and went about sitting down. Not next to her for that was too provocative but near enough to nurture the conversation.  
  
Turning to her, his feet, bare, buried beneath the sand and his hands on his knees as he drew them up to his chest he answer, voice serious but sincere, "I was wondering just what is going to happen when we all have to go back to LA."  
  
She nodded, watching him as she pulled her glasses off, leaving them on her head, nestled in her hair. Despite the fact that she had not asked for his thoughts, she was thankful that he had chosen to give her them, but his answer still wasn't clear, "What do you mean? About Sydney and Vaughn?"  
  
He shrugged, "I suppose." Pausing he picked up a handful of sand, letting the granules slide through his fingers and fly away, floating on the air a few meters before landing back in the sand. "But I mean everything." Irina shook her head to show she was still lost, smiling to relieve the seriousness she hadn't wanted in the first place. Jack turned his eyes back out to the sea, "It sounds stupid, but everything has changed since we got on that plane and when we go back we have to make like it never happened. I mean, it looks like this operation is going to go off without a hitch and we'll be home by Friday, but just..."  
  
She nodded, knowing to some extent now what he was talking about. Not wanting to frighten him off but not prepared to waste time dancing around the issue, she tried to elaborate for him, "You're referring to us?" An unperceivable nod let her continue, "You think that we've changed?"  
  
"Yeah," he said, continuing to avoid her gaze, his eyes instead focused on their daughter as Sydney swam around Vaughn, eliciting chuckles and giggles from both. "To be blatant, when we took off I wanted to see you dead, now, I'd probably rather die than see you killed." He let his eyes slide to hers, afraid he'd disclosed too much and that any second now she'd jump him, attacking with words of such force that he wouldn't live through it. Seeing her face openly sober and not the slightest trace of malice or deception he moved on, "We haven't actually done anything, or said much but the whole dynamic has been shattered and put together again...I'm not making sense am I?"  
  
"No, I get it," she told him, removing the sun glasses again to fiddle with them in her fingers, subconsciously hoping he didn't notice her nervousness. "You've realized that once we get back, I'll be stuck in my cell and we'll never get a chance to talk again." He nodded, face steely in an attempt to erect a new defense of indifference. "What do you want to do?" she asked, taking the risk she'd promised herself she would never take and letting him decide what to do, opening him to the possibility of possibility.  
  
Watching her, Jack knew what he wanted to say but couldn't find sufficient reason to say it and so he said nothing, watching he instead, letting his eyes wander her face but no further, memorizing the creases, the brightness in her eyes, the way her hair fell, the perfect beauty she'd always had. She nodded, startling him and smiled, one side of her mouth twitching up, a hand rising to grab the glasses and smooth her hair back. "I'll give you time," she said, "To think."  
  
Standing she lost the tracksuit pants and walked, slow enough to look indifferent to where his eyes went but fast enough to know herself that she cared a great deal. Moving into the water, she waited until she was in up to her mid thighs before diving under; skimming over the sand, arms out in front as she aimed for the end of the pier, hoping her daughter would not mind the interruption.  
  
Back on shore, Jack watched until she disappeared underneath the water, his body exhausted from the ten minutes of discussion, he fell back into the sand, feeling like a great weight had been lifted and replaced with a slightly smaller one. Now all that was left to do was think and watch for the duration of her swim and then, when she got back in, he would try, once again to explain the predicament that they were both in.  
  
There's another chapter ready but you're not getting it unless you review, hehe, so please review, I love you guys who do. 


	32. Twist

Chapter Thirty two  
  
Irina turned her eyes back to the shore, watching as he fell back into the sand, smiling to herself, she ducked under and swam further, approaching the young couple noisily just to be sure. Pulling up out of the water a few meters away, no longer able to touch the bottom as everyone had drifted eastward and had left the sand bar, she was glad to find them both circling each other and not in an embrace, her daughter in the middle of threatening Vaughn was death should he try to drag her under again.  
  
Grinning, but moving all the same, Vaughn's eyes lit up as he saw Irina and he called for help, "Do you want to lend me a hand?"  
  
Sydney turned quickly to find her mother, her own eyes lighting up before darkening as she asked, "You didn't argue with dad again did you?"  
  
Irina laughed, treading water, "No, he just needed some time to think."  
  
"Oh," Sydney nodded, turning her sights back to Vaughn as he came too close. "Excuse me," she said. Plowing head long into him, it was a few seconds later that Vaughn found himself under water, hands on his shoulders, Sydney's face underwater with him as her hair swirled around them. Off to the left he could see Irina, still above water and decided to risk the situation. Moving in, he roughly kissing Sydney on the lips, taking his chance as Sydney's grip lessened, Vaughn kicked away, surfacing a few feet closer to the pier at the same time as Sydney.  
  
"Truce," he immediately spluttered out, his hands in the air.  
  
Sydney watched happily as she raised her own hands, "Truce."  
Irina finally persuaded them out of the water an hour and a half later, just after one with the promise of lunch on the sand. Walking up she was rattled to find Jack looking relaxed, lying on his side, a book, old looking, almost antique, flipped open lying in his hand as he read. Seeing them approaching, he shut it and carefully put it back into the bag, sitting up ready to greet them. "Have a good swim?"  
  
"Yeah," Sydney volunteered when she found that Vaughn was too scared to answer and Irina too enthralled in looking at him to bother with words, "The water was great, you should have joined us."  
  
"Perhaps," he answered, "I took the chance to think instead." No one missed the blatantly obvious way that his eyes slid to Irina's and both Sydney and Vaughn's brows creased low. "You guys want lunch right?" he asked, perking up and his eyes disentangling themselves from Irina's.  
  
"Yep, any ideas?" Vaughn asked.  
  
"Fish and Chips?" Jack pointed out, trying to keep it hidden that he had had this conversation planned out for about an hour.  
  
Irina saw the plan and quickly adopted her part, "Yeah, fish and chips are great around here."  
  
"Okay," Sydney said, her voice drawing off, "You want us to go and buy some?"  
  
Jack smiled, happy to see everyone coming close to quoting what he'd thought they should say, "Yeah, there's a nice little shop just over the road we came in on." He looked to Irina who nodded, "Just go up the track, cross the road and it's just on your left."  
  
"Fine," Sydney said, her eyes moving from one parent to another, "What do you want?"  
  
Jack's eyes moved back to his daughter's in a flash, his mind throwing out an answer he thought he'd better not voice so instead he was quick to say, "Whatever you think I'll like."  
  
"Mom?" Sydney asked already knowing the answer.  
  
"What ever you think."  
  
"Right," Sydney said, her voice level while her insides shook with laughter, "We'll be back in fifteen minutes."  
  
"Take your time," Jack bit his lip, knowing he'd gone too far when ever Vaughn's eyes lit up with understanding. Biting his tongue, he just nodded to them, watching as they turned and left, Vaughn grabbing Sydney's hand as they turned the corner onto the path that led to the car park, their figures disappearing into the dense foliage hiding the world from the beach.  
  
"Irina," jack said, offering her a hand as he sat himself down on the mat, circumspectly, she took it and lowered herself to the ground beside him, sitting alongside him on the mat, he legs crossed as they both watched the rolling water for a few minutes. "You've thought about it?" she asked, sick of the silence and wondering how he could bare it.  
  
"Yeah," he said, "Though it only took me a few minutes."  
  
She laughed, her amusement throaty and deep, seductive to say the least, "So what were you thinking about?"  
  
"Other stuff." He paused, "Before I start I need you to understand a few things." She nodded and he continued, "Whatever I say here, you can't count on it."  
  
"You're saying that you can and will take it back?"  
  
"No," he hastened to correct, grabbing her arm, holding her at the elbow with tentative hands once he realized what he'd done, "I mean, I don't want you to consider it to mean anything...outside of us." She nodded, knowing that he simply meant that she shouldn't try to base the future around it. "Okay?"  
  
"Yeah. Now what is it you have to tell me?" she asked, her tone light while her eyes were darker than they'd ever been, her gaze steady and the muscles in her arm tense as his thumb traced circles on the inside of her elbow. She wasn't prepared to pull away, but until she heard him say what she needed to hear, she wasn't prepared to give in either. Should he say it, she would most probably give in completely.  
  
"Irina," he said, his other hand coming up to her thigh as he turned to look her in the eyes. There wasn't going to be any long speech, there wasn't going to be any explanation, it was going to be simple and eh was ready to say it, he knew he was ready to say it even if it doomed him to eternal damming, he wanted to say it, needed to.  
  
"Don't move an inch," the accent was thick, Russian perhaps on first hearing, but then it was a twist of a few others as well, cutting through the silence as both Irina and Jack felt the nozzle of a gun on each of their necks. "Stand up." They did so, their eyes connected as they watched each other, ready and willing to attack the three men holding them. But then, "Don't try anything. There are enough of us to kill you twelve times over. Weapons, on the ground slowly."  
  
"We have none," Jack said, voice level as he continued to search Irina's eyes for an answer to his question of what to do.  
  
"You're sure?" the male asked maliciously. "We'd hate to think you were lying."  
  
"Sure." Irina said.  
  
"Good," he said, his hand flicking out in a silent order. 


	33. Names

Well, guys, I sure have taken my time with this one and it isn't even really a big shippy thing like I'm sure you all wanted. Anyways, basically, my problem, the reason I took forever, was school, but now I have school holidays and two whole weeks of them so I am hoping that I can write almost every day. I hope I haven't lost too many readers and please review if you read it cause if you remember correctly, that's what keeps me writing. The other thing is that I owe due credit to friends at school who have helped out, Anj and Sam for their sometimes very bad ideas and Cameron whose name you will notice I have stolen. I should warn that Cameron in the story is not based very much on the Cameron I know and that I only took his name 'Cameron Black' because it does sound overly evil. On with it...Enjoy.  
  
Quick Recap:  
  
Sydney, Vaughn, Jack and Irina have been sent to Melbourne, Australia to achieve the cover story of a happy family before stealing the Dury Book, a Rambaldi artifact. They arrive and spend their time together, the tension between Irina and Jack intensifying while Vaughn and Sydney have finally realized their love for each other. Jack was just about to tell Irina something as they sat on a Melbourne beach when a voice told them not to move as a gun was held to both their heads. We pick up from there...  
  
Chapter Thirty Three  
  
Sydney and Vaughn returned to the beach ten minutes later, arms joined, paper package in Vaughn's arm. As they turned the corner out onto the open beach, panic struck both in the heart. To anyone else, it looked like an empty beach, void of anyone or anything suspicious and while it was possible that her parents had simply left to grab something from the car or that they had left for a reason perhaps more sinister as Sydney had noticed the ever increasing tension peaking once again earlier on, but there were other signs.  
  
The mat they had been occupying was untouched, if they looked closer, and they did, they could still see the indentations that Sydney's parents' bodies had made. The picnic basket they had hastily packed was also still upright and there was nothing to signal that there had been any trouble at all. So what was it that had Sydney grasping at Vaughn's hand even harder, the wrapped up chips, formally feeling hot and smelling delicious dropping to the ground and the pair running to the last site that Jack and Irina had been seen. It was instinct.  
  
The air smelt bad, too still, too quiet and Sydney half expected to be ambushed and she was prepared, but they were not. No masked man jumped out at them form behind the bushes and all that they found was a single hair clip, left sitting in the sand that Sydney had known her mother to have weaved into her black dyed hair.  
  
"Mom," she whispered, looking up and locking eyes with Vaughn. She held the clip up and watched her own eyes darken as they reflected from his. A split second later and both were in spy gear, they hastily packed up their stuff, even bothering to pick up the fish and chips that they had bought and place them in a trash can. Racing to the car there was no discussion as Sydney jumped into the drivers seat, pulling her cell phone out and dialing a number she was only allowed to use in extreme emergencies.  
  
OOOOOOOOOO  
  
He woke up to feel a presence above him, after a few seconds of trying to see through the haze still present in his mind he determined the presence to be unfriendly and knew Irina was no where near by. He couldn't smell her, not even the scent she managed to leave in a room for days after she left.  
  
Trying to remember what had happened he hurriedly determined that he had been drugged not long after he'd been hauled into the back of a car along with Irina. Between then and now, he decided he had no idea on what had happened and just how long it had been between then and now, he had even less of an idea; it could have been hours...or days. He had no idea. Opening his eyes he glimpsed the presence in the corner and their eyes locked, his own brown eyes stuck on his own piercing blue orbs.  
  
"You're awake," the accent was there and the man was identified instantly as the man from the beach. Instantaneously Jack wanted to punch him senseless and get Irina back, fleeing from whatever place they were in, but he knew it wasn't an option. He had to wait and so kept silent as the man and barely that, as he appeared to be only a few years past twenty, walked over to him, meandering in his path, head cocked to the side as he surveyed what was ultimately his prey. "That's good," he explained, slipping a hand into the pocket of the navy blue jeans he wore. "Now we can talk."  
  
Jack watched carefully, trying to weigh up his choices. Seeing the man had power, he nodded curtly and carefully asked, "I want to know whom it is I'm talking to."  
  
His jaw jutted out as he looked down at where Jack slumped against the wall. "My name in exchange for your mission, in all it's glory." Sniggering he turned back around, slipped the hand from his pocket and up into a shirt pocket, "Now," he said, sensing hesitation.  
  
"I'm here," Jack began, "Because back home called in a 479 and we were led to Melbourne, I was undercover until you decided it was best to capture me and bring me in for questioning. My superiors thought it best for me to stay on the case instead of letting the locals deal with it."  
  
He cocked his head to the side, neatly trimmed chocolate brown hair curling to show Jack it was wet. The man in front of him was obviously not impressed with the crap he had just spun him, but Jack felt a certain level of respect gained and so conceded further. "What is it exactly that you want to know?"  
  
"Name...for the record." Trying to sound as tough he already knew exactly who the man in front of him was didn't work but it was his job to find out anyway and Jack was giving him a hard time.  
  
"In exchange for your name?" Jack pushed. A slight nod brought a small grin of triumph to Jack's tight mouth. "Jack Bristow. CIA."  
  
He grinned, "Cameron Black." He paused, watching his captive and wondering just how much he could squeeze out without having to turn to torture. Shrugging he started to pace, walking around him, noting everything he could in the hope of feigning knowledge. "What exactly was your mission."  
  
"I've already told you that answer."  
  
"You lied."  
  
Taking a breath, Jack tried to reposition himself, the strain on his arms, tied, as they were, behind his back, causing the numbing sensation he'd been trained to ignore. "Untie me, I'll tell you who sent me."  
  
"The CIA sent you," he responded off handedly. "Tell me your exact details and I will untie you...and re-acquaint you with the woman."  
  
"You'll leave her here with me?" Jack asked, trying not to let the hope edge into his voice. For some reason he felt that together there wasn't really going to be much trouble escaping. It was obvious that his interrogator had no idea at all on what was going on, it was also obvious that he was not in charge that this Cameron Black had a superior, somewhere and that his boss didn't know that the Dury book even existed. This, Jack decided was a simple coincidence and he was a prisoner for some other reason, possibly a past action or mission, but not this one.  
  
Cameron nodded, waiting for a response but not getting one as Jack raised him self haphazardly from the ground and waited for his hands to be untied. Slightly flustered, Cameron quickly pulled apart the several knots holding him together. "Sit," he commanded as Jack rubbed his wrists and lowered his body back down to the ground. "Now tell me."  
  
OOOOOOOOOO  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Cameron had what he thought to be the full story. Jack had indeed informed him of the Dury book, of its whereabouts and who had written it. At the mention of Rambaldi, recognition had dawned but it was obvious that Cameron and supposedly his superiors had no interest in the man what so ever. Jack had managed to leave out the precious details and had dodged all mention of Sydney and Vaughn. He'd named Irina as his partner from the CIA but stood by, making it subtly clear that they were only partners and had no feelings for the other. Cameron, having been in the business several years despite his young age was not to trusting and as he opened the double gate to allow three guards in along with the harmless looking woman the way his two prisoners' eyes met was unmistakable.  
  
Sitting down across from Jack in a position that gave her full view of everything in front of her, Irina turned to watch Cameron. He'd talked with her only briefly, getting her name and mission and a similar story to Jack's in return for re uniting them. In essence he had gotten two for the price of one and in time they would realize that, but currently it wasn't his problem.  
  
Walking back into the room, leaving the gate swinging precariously, he spoke, "I will call my superior and inform her of you cooperation. I hope it continues." He nodded curtly to both of them either in a sign of respect or mockery before departing with long, swift strides.  
  
Sitting softly, Jack was tempted to move closer but didn't, knowing that to say or do anything might give them away. He needed to know what she had told them but there was no way to speak, no way to move, there were two guards outside the gate and two cameras covering every inch of the room. Biting his lip he looked up at her. His eyes devoid of emotion he grabbed her gaze and held it. A faint smile graced her lips and he sub-consciously returned it.  
  
Locking eyes again he watched at she began blinking furiously it took him only a second to catch on to her expected intelligent plan. The message she kept repeating - Are you getting all of this - was soon answered by his own. -Yes. Are you okay? -  
  
He'd always been good with Morse and until that moment he hadn't even really known that she could do it, but now, as he watched her fluttering eyelids he found her a master, the words crossing almost as quickly as words. -I'm fine - She answered, -What did you tell him?-  
  
Jack glanced up to the video cameras before responding -Everything. Except we're partners and he doesn't know about Sydney or Vaughn.-  
  
She ran a hand through her hair, sweeping the brown wisps from her eyes. Turning her head slightly she went on -He questioned me you know-  
  
Jack's eyes widened, the through hadn't even entered his mind -What did you say?-  
  
She grinned -Exactly what you said.- Sighing in relief, Jack pulled his knees up to his chest. Still not unlocking his eyes from hers, he waited for the next question, sure enough it soon came, -Do you know where we are? Or when?-  
  
He shook his head, hoping the cameras didn't catch him out. -No idea. Do you?- Irina shook her head back at him before crossing her legs and leaning back against the wall.  
  
-When we get out of all of this,- she began, -We need to talk.-  
  
Swallowing, but knowing she was right, Jack agreed, -When we get out of all of this.-  
  
Hope it was worth the wait and please, oh please review, more very soon. 


	34. Escape

Have fun guys and I seriously am loving your reviews.  
  
Chapter Thirty Four  
  
Kendall was shocked to say the least when he got the call. Never before had Sydney needed to call him when on a covert mission such as this and it worried him immediately. He wasted no time in getting out of the meeting he had been sleeping through and racing, quite fast considering it was him, to the phone. Picking it up he listened carefully before telling her to stay put as he raced off to his own superiors for the required information.  
  
His first through had been that Irina had betrayed them all and taken Jack with her, either as a trophy or because he was going to come in handy. But something in Sydney's voice made sure that Kendall understood that that wasn't it. Irina and Jack had been captured, no one knew how and no on knew whom by and no one knew why. The plan, if you could call it that was to pull as many Australian recourses, every person that the CIA had ties to and get the underground network up and running. There wasn't a chance in hell of Jack and Irina being rescued is they didn't know where they were and that was their primary objective for the moment.  
  
Sydney, being Sydney, refused to go back to the hotel room and wait and was hell-bent on racing off in search so Kendall quickly handed her a few names of men that might or might not have ended up being helpful. He hoped that Jack and Irina would just let themselves escape because they truly had no leads. Vaughn was soon on the line as well, questioning informing ASIO, Australia's intelligence but was soon against it when Kendall brought up recent cases involving them and the sloppiness that would ensue with two agencies on the case.  
  
Hanging up and swerving onto the freeway, Sydney griped the steering wheel tighter, her mind flicking back over everything that had happened. Vaughn watched her tentatively as she stared straight ahead at the road. "Syd," he asked. "Are you okay?"  
  
She swallowed blatantly but didn't flinch, "No."  
  
"I'm sure that they'll be fine," he began, "They can look after themselves, I mean they've probably already started to plan their break out." The waver of uncertainty was obvious in his voice.  
  
"Yeah," Sydney conceded, more for herself than anything else, "But what if they're not." She glanced at him as she overtook a Holden. "You realize that if we don't find them that she'll be blamed."  
  
Vaughn nodded half-heartedly, lifting a hand to stroke her cheek in assurance. "We just need to be careful, there's no use in us getting captured too is there?"  
  
She shook her head a ghost of a smile gracing her lips. Together that sat in silence until they got back to the hotel upon which they walked through the front door and straight up to the front desk. Smiling serenely and as though nothing was wrong, Sydney recited her alias to the receptionist who promptly handed over the unmarked yellow package that both Sydney and Vaughn knew would contain enough background information on the three men they planned on visiting to last them a week but would need to be read in a matter of hours.  
  
Sydney only wished that the elevator would speed up and when the doors began to slide open she slipped her hand from Vaughn's and raced to their door.  
  
000000000  
  
Sitting across from each other, Irina was shocked to find herself almost enjoying this time alone with Jack. They weren't taking freely exactly and they weren't allowed to talk out loud but both were in their element and were slowly piecing together the puzzle. Jack was shocked at his wife's abilities which he had always accepted were incredible but he never expected to appreciate them so much nor to enjoy watched her eyes flicker and her thumb rub over her bottom lip as she thought and blinked.  
  
-You don't remember anything?- Jack questioned in reference to her way in.  
  
-Nothing specific. I woke up inside the cell and when they brought me here they had me blindfolded.-  
  
He grinned before quickly wiping the look from his face, -and?- he pushed, knowing she would have gathered a heap of information despite her blind state.  
  
-And,- she continued, smiling, -It was a short walk, outside, through light leaves perhaps, maybe eighty meters. Outside this room I would have to say there was an exposed place.- Jack's brow creased in the slightest. They were, according Irina in whom he held no doubt, in a single roomed building. Outside he had no idea and so he waited for her to give him more information. -My senses were heightened thanks to the blindfold. I could hear nothing but the two men who brought me, wind a little, bird calls.- She paused, her thumb rubbing at her chin and her eyes fazing out, -I'd say we'd have to be in the middle of the bush.- She shrugged and watched him for a response.  
  
Predictably, he chose to summarize their findings. -So we're stuck in a cell and through that door,- he motioned with his eyes all the while blinking out the message, -Is pure bush land along with at least one other cell.- She grinned nodding. -And how many men?-  
  
-Two brought me over, I'd say by the smell that the guard apparently guarding us is one of them, so I count three.-  
  
-Only three?-  
  
-Yep.- She paused glancing at the oblivious guard who stood, blond and looking like he had drunk a little too much as he stared at the ceiling quietly counting the scratch marks. -This Cameron, I've never heard of him.-  
  
-Me either.-  
  
-He's good at what he does though-  
  
-How can you tell?- Jack asked, repositioning himself as his back began to ache once again.  
  
-He's done with us exactly what I would have done- Seeing his raised eyebrow she elaborated, -If you hadn't noticed he's got our names and the fact that we're CIA and is yet to lay a finger on us physically.-  
  
Jack nodded, -But you're not CIA.-  
  
-No, I'm not,- she answered, feeling the conversation slowing down as both started to think over the possibilities. Of course this didn't mean they could drop the other's gaze and so contentedly settled down to drown in the eyes across the room...all in the line of duty, of course. Irina could sense or see, she didn't quite know which, the rush in Jack's eyes, the way every few seconds he would blink, his brow creased low and again she felt like she was staring right through him. Shockingly enough, at this stage in their bungled mission, it had to be a plus.  
  
-Have we got a plan?- Jack suddenly asked, eyes flicking to the dim witted guard as he blinked.  
  
-I don't know...Do we?- Irina replied letting her eyes follow his to find the being supposedly keeping them prisoner standing up against the wall picking his nose.  
  
A pause in the conversation and Irina knew that Jack was thinking along the same lines as she was. -You or me?- he questioned.  
  
-Me- she replied, eager for some reason to once again prove her worth or perhaps just to see what his reaction would be. Standing and arching her back as she moaned, half to grab the guard's attention and half because she wanted to see the flicker in Jack's eyes that was oh so definitely still there. Chastising herself for not treating her actions seriously she tried to go with her plan and ignore Jack but of course could not.  
  
"Excuse me," she said, her voice timid and slightly raspy. The guard jumped, wheeling around to face her. She grinned, head dropped and immediately felt him relax. Approaching the bars that split the room in two, she grasped them between her fingers and leant up against them, "I really need to go."  
  
A bemused look overcame him, "Go?" he looked around not noticing Jack's cocked head as he observed the scene playing out before him. "Go where?"  
  
She grinned again, ducking her head, "Lady's room," she whispered.  
  
"Oh," he smiled goofily, "Cool". And then proceeded to turn back around and replace his finger in his nose.  
  
"Would you mind opening the gate?" she asked, slightly miffed at him falling for her story and then not even understanding the role he was supposed to play.  
  
He turned back, "Oh, yeah, of course." He proceeded to unlock the metal gate, fumbling with the keys for a moment, giving Irina plenty of time to count the six individual keys, two of which she knew belonged to a car.  
  
"Thank you," Irina waited until he was holding the gate open, fingers entwined and a hand outstretched, just like a true gentleman before kicking him hard between the ribs and whirling around to kick him again in the knees. Feeling almost sorry for the idiot, she was quick to knock him out against the metal before turning, triumphant smile in place to shoo Jack out ahead of her.  
  
"Nice," he complimented. She held up the keys to which he said, acting in a way she could only deem flirtatious in a Jack type of way, "Very nice." He grabbed the key-ring from her grasp, looked over it and handed it back, before silently moving towards the door, on reaching it, he asked, "Did he have a gun?"  
  
Irina shook her head in the negative, "Nope," before sliding an arm past him to the handle, grabbing his eyes with hers and silently counting to three. Yanking the door open far enough that both could see out, their suspicions were confirmed. Surrounding them was an endless shade of dirty green, as they stepped out they found hard ground, tree roots entwined with little shrubs and filtered sunlight hitting the ground. "Bush," Irina commented offhandedly as she looked around, searching for the other two known men that still posed them a threat.  
  
"There," Jack pointed towards a red four wheel drive where a Irina's second guard stood, leaning back on the painted body, cigarette to his lips. He went to move forward but Irina silently laid a hand on his arm, forcing him to wait.  
  
"Where's Cameron?" she asked, obviously not sure.  
  
Jack shrugged, again looking around for the culprit but not finding him, "We go now, or we don't." He paused listening to the sharp call of some far off bird, "Your call."  
  
She glanced up, catching his eye and smirked caught up in the game, "We go."  
  
He smiled back, the corner of his mouth twitching up, "We go." And then they ran, simultaneously over the ground, the lack of leaves making their run silent and as they circled around behind the car. Coming up behind him, Irina took the lead again and wrapped a hand around his arm pulling it back as she pushed him with her body into the car. Jack watched on and she covered his mouth expertly with another hand.  
  
"You answer our questions without screaming, we'll let you live." The stiff body mumbled what was surly agreement as the cigarette dropped to the ground. "Good. First question, who are you?" Slowly she lifted her hand but on feeling a quick intake of breath quickly stopped the scream that was rising, "No screaming," she emphasized.  
  
Again she allowed him to speak, "Furgul, I work for Cameron," his accent was definitely French.  
  
"And what work is it you do?"  
  
"I keep an eye with Fergus on the prisoners."  
  
Irina was about to ask her third question when she felt Jack move closer behind her, "He's coming," he whispered in her ear. "Now."  
  
Irina turned to see Cameron, head down as he jumped a wire fence only a hundred meters away; he still hadn't seen them. She turned back to her prisoner, "The keys," he hesitated and ended up with his arm wrenched even higher up his back.  
  
"I don't have them. Cameron leaves the keys with whoever is in the cell. Never out here." Frustrated, Irina glanced at Jack before giving up on their blatantly incompetent captive and hitting him over the head. As he crumpled to the ground, Cameron cleared the fence and glanced up to catch them running into the car, Jack slid fluidly into the drivers seat as Irina wrenched open the passenger door and, climbing in, threw the keys to Jack. Looking over them, Jack tried one, then another to find it fitting snuggly. Turning it in the ignition, the car roared into life...  
Reviews please, you've been so good at it up until now so keep it up. 


	35. Leechs: The seductive creature

Chapter Thirty Five  
  
Three shots rang out straight through the air and immediately all animal sounds fell dead, the sometimes deafening call of the lyre bird disappeared and even the wind seemed to stop dead it in its tracks. Of the three shots, two had hit the back two tires, the third shattering the rear window. In the few seconds between the shots and Cameron's voice both Irina and Jack had to marvel at his ability, though only momentarily as his calm, level voice smoothly demanded: "Get out of the car and throw whatever weapons you have to the ground."  
  
A quick glance to Irina and Jack ignored the ultimatum and stepped on the accelerator. On a few occasions before Jack had had to drive a car with shot flat tires but never through un-cleared bush and as he sped up to what would have been acceptable on residential streets, he found the car refusing to go faster. Swerving he dodged one of the two meter wide gum trees and continued on. Behind them, Irina heard the sound of the second car they had seen powering up, she grinned, knowing it was a sedan and had nothing on their four wheeler...except for wheels.  
  
She wrenched open the glove box, hoping that she would find a gun but found nothing, the car, she observed may as well have been brand new as there was not a speck of personality of even a sniff of proof that anyone had ever touched it before. Turning to Jack she voiced their circumstances, "There's no gun." He glanced at her, connecting eyes for only a second but knowing that to escape they were going to need something spectacular. Even then he could feel the car trying to swerve off to the left as the disintegrating tires fell off bit by bit.  
  
Irina turned around to look out the back window, no longer there, at the pursuing blue sedan. They were lucky that Australian rush wasn't dense because as it was both cars were having trouble swerving the scattered eucalypts and ignoring the knee high shrubs. The car jolted beneath her, slowing more and as she looked back again she found Cameron slowly gaining on them. He sat in the front seat, eyes straight ahead, no anger present on his face or in his driving, he probably could have gone faster but he knew that he would eventually catch up and was content to sit there waiting.  
  
She turned to Jack whose brow was knitted low in concentration. Glancing around them and seeing nothing but eucalypts, the way the ground curved caught her eye. "Left." She demanded and Jack didn't hesitate, turning left on close to a right angle and continuing to drive in a zig zag into the sun.  
  
As the terrain steadily became more moist and the downward slope she had them on more imminent, he had to ask, "Why are we going this way?"  
  
She looked at him before turning back around to watch the ever looming car, "We'll eventually get to a rainforest."  
  
She sounded as though that explained everything but it didn't and Jack head to push, "And..?"  
  
"And if we're going to hide, which we need to do that's the place to do it." He nodded as he glanced back to see Cameron within fifty meters of the car. "We're going to have to get there fast though," Irina voiced for the both of them.  
  
Jack glared ahead, pushing the car harder but getting nothing out of it. Another shot rang out and the front left tire blew out, "Shit," Irina swore wishing she had her own gun because had she had a weapon the bastard would have been dead yet.  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by Jack's query, "That it?" She turned back and in front of her, not twenty five meters away and down a steep slope was the wet, humid, leech infested rainforest the lingered in every valley Australia had to offer. She nodded the affirmative and Jack swerved to a stop moments before the car plummeted over the steep mud bank.  
  
Both doors wrenched open in a split second and Jack and Irina met on in front of the car, staring down at the ten meter slat of chocolate brown mud. It wasn't a cliff by any means but it wasn't something you could walk down: you wither took your time or you slid and right then they weren't going to take their time.  
  
Grabbing her hand, Jack stepped over, grappling with his other hand to slow the slide to the bottom. Irina went with him, her legs sinking in over her ankles and her fingers disappearing in the goo as she bit down on her tongue and tried not to loose her balance. Above them a car door slammed shut and they hurried, no longer worried about slowing their decent but only about getting there before him and his gun came into view. Jack reached the ground, not as muddy as the slope but instead just moist and mossy, just ahead of Irina, and, unlacing his fingers from hers he quickly helped her in the last foot by hoisting her down, hands on her hips as he set her down in front of him. Both glanced upwards and seeing their hunter staring down at them were quick to duck beneath the tell fern beside them.  
  
The light changed from white to green and ahead all they could see was dense green, interlaced with water and spider webs, still wet with dew. Irina led now, probably because she was used to this weird and wondrous landscape and as Jack followed, both reduced to a quick walk, they panted, eyes ahead, voices dead as it talking would have them found. Behind them they expected to hear swearing or something but instead there was nothing and both felt the unease overtake them as they journeyed deeper into ferns and moss covered trees.  
  
Every few minutes they would stop, holding their breath as they listened for a follower, but there wasn't one. After only a hour's walking they were exhausted, the heat was not much more than the fine day temperature of above but the humidity was high, too high and both were sweating and hot. Letting go of the hand that she'd held for that entire hour, Irina looked at him. "We came on a straight line to here; we can follow it back if the need arises."  
  
Jack could only nod as he sat down next to the clear creek they'd stopped at. Together they had already made their way through two creeks before hand, neither more than a meter deep but with freezing water and tens of meters wide. Around them, stooping trees provided shelter while the pebbles that lay beneath the water were also present on the banks and clean enough to sit on. Jack watched confused as the woman in front of him, still beautiful after a one hour trek carefully dusted the dirt from her and disentangled the branches from her hair. He noticed that she was still in a dress and found it most ironic as he himself was still wearing the jeans and shirt he'd put on for the day at the beach.  
  
Irina had been wearing a jacket, not hers and not Jack's so presumably their capturer's and quickly took the leather off, she checked her arms, brushing her hands over them and trying not to miss her inspection of every inch. Jack asked her, "What are you doing?" and she quickly replied:  
  
"Leeches."  
  
"Yep," she replied off handedly, feeling around her ankles but not prepared to take the sneakers she'd originally put on despite the cool, water-covered rocks that seemed to be just pleading with her to dip her feet in. She looked up as she stretched a second and caught Jack's look of shock cum revolution. "What?"  
  
"What kind of leeches?" he asked, trying not to squirm. He had encountered leeches only once in southern Africa and they'd been well over four inches long, sucking the blood out of him and refusing to get off until one of the older operatives had taken three matches to him Painful to say the least.  
  
Irina grinned, knowing his thoughts without even having to try, he'd told her, she remembered about that particular mission and she watched him without relieving the fear for several more seconds. Then she looked down and said off handedly, "They're tiny Jack, if you find one, you can just flick it off, no salt...no matches." The last word came out with the sting of irony and Jack could only look up and glare as he too quickly looked himself over in the hope of not finding one.  
  
Reaching over her back Irina her hands dip under the loose material until her arms were straining. To be honest she probably should have asked for the help but she wasn't prepared to push her luck. Just as she was withdrawing her right hand from just below her left shoulder blade the tips of her fingers ran over something only a couple of centimeters long, withered against her skin.  
  
She wasn't stupid, she knew pulling would only serve to make the tiny mindless creature, much like Sloane now that she thought about it, more hungry and suffice to have its grip tightened to a point at which it would both hurt and need more than the flick of a fingernail to remove it. And she couldn't reach over her back far enough to flick it away and that left her with one option: Jack.  
  
Clenching her teeth down, she turned to him as he sat down, slightly less apprehensive having found no leeches on him, and cocked her head. He watched her a few seconds before asking, "What?"  
  
"I need help," she responded, cryptically it appeared to him.  
  
"No kidding," he stood up, ignoring the flicker of curiosity that darted over Irina's face at his small joke. "What with?"  
  
"There's a leech on my back and I can't reach around far enough to get it off." She turned as was talking, hoping he would take the hint but he didn't. "You're going to have to pull the back down a bit, it's right below my left shoulder blade.  
  
Jack raised an eyebrow as his fingers moved forward of their own accord toward her turned back and her own hand as it swept up the limp hair and held it out of the way. Gritting his teeth, Jack allowed two and only two fingers to drag the back of her dress down her back until the tiny disgusting creature was visible, still wriggling as it sucked the blood without care.  
  
It was indeed small and as Jack lifted a hand to remove it, Irina's voice made him jump, "Do it quickly, if it feels you there, it'll tighten and we'll have to burn it off."  
  
He nodded again his hand creeping up on the black vampire, flicking it quickly, it was all over in a flash but his hand remained. Thumb and fingers rubbing tenderly at the small red mark that was left behind. Irina held her breath, not ready to speak and not ready to move away either. She eventually had to though as her patience wore thin with not knowing and she inched her head to watch him.  
  
Nose to nose their eyes caught again, both open as was predestined, and the fear grew in Irina's stomach. "Thank you." She said, aware that his hand was still resting, now down the neck of her dress, his fingers dormant but still radiating heat. She swallowed, wishing he would say something...anything.  
  
Of course when he did she instantly regretted the silent wish, "No problem."  
  
Closing her eyes, Irina leaned tentatively in, her breathing labored and her mind reeling. Jack watched her for a second, going over the thousands of things that could happen in the following seconds and the thousands of things that couldn't happen. He wondered over the consequences of each and every option, trying his best to take an objective view while in the few seconds he knew that there was but only one thing that he wanted to do. One thing that he wanted but couldn't have.  
  
He turned, his hand withdrawing as he placing both on his hips and looked out at the clear water creek. Behind him he felt Irina move to stand just out of his line of sight. Glancing around at her he saw no hurt in her eyes only curiosity and confusion. He smiled meekly: There was no fooling this woman, she knew he'd wanted her, now all that there was left for her to learn was why he hadn't taken her.  
  
"We need to work out where we stand." The statement, Jack felt, had a double meaning but she was right, they needed to work out not only what to do but geographically where they were. The dense rainforest could keep them hidden for weeks but they needed to get out and back to civilization as soon as it was possible as they had no food to live off.  
  
So Jack nodded and looked up at the towering fern that must have been at least six meters high and looked out over most of the rest of the valley. Irina followed his gaze, "You going up or am I?"  
  
Jack looked at her with an incredulous look on his face, "You," he stated simply, not prepared to argue about it.  
  
Hope you enjoyed that and I hope to god you review because that's why I write ;) So keep up the great reviewing work. And go read the other updates. 


	36. Up a Tree

Chapter Thirty Six  
  
Irina nodded, no hesitation and not overly surprised at Jack's decision to send her up there, but still happy to take her time in figuring out the best way of making her assent. She skirted around the fern, looking over it, from every angle she could, taking in its height and width. It was, by her calculation, over two hundred years old. It was tall and in the conditions surrounding it: low light, moist air, water system, she saw it is a work of nature to be reckoned with.  
  
Her other observation was the absence of branches and therefore foot holds for the first five meters. She turned to Jack, "I'm going to need help getting up." He looked to the fern, at first doubtful that she really did, but shrugging as he recognized the truth to her statement.  
  
"What do you need?"  
  
She considered him, by no means wishing to impose but seeing no other way. "You think you can hold me on your shoulders?"  
  
"Standing?" he asked, once again doubtful.  
  
"I could probably reach from sitting." He nodded curtly to her and flexed his shoulders, doing his best to remain devoid of emotion.  
  
Irina watched him as he knelt down, motioning for her to come forward and climb on. She did so quickly, ignoring the heat he radiated as she knew he would be doing the same and quietly waited for him to hoist himself and he up. A few seconds later, he was standing, waiting patiently for her to find her way up.  
  
Grabbing the overhead branch with the tips of her fingers, Irina quickly pulled herself up, her legs slipping over Jack's shoulders like liquid as she used her arms to propel herself straight up, through the thick layers of green fern and out of sight. Jack sat down, happy to wait.  
  
About two minutes later, Irina appeared, almost silently, beside him. She'd jumped the several meters and landed perfectly, steadying herself with a hand as she crouched beside him. He was seated and had been throwing rocks into the stream as he continued to mull over the situation.  
  
She repositioned herself, sitting down, cross legged and finally surrendering to the siren call of the cool water in front of her. Silently, she took both her shoes off and let her feet slip into the freezing liquid up to her knees. She pointed her toes, waiting for Jack to ask her about her trek up the tree. Turning to her and taking what she immediately noticed to be a blatant and purposeful look at her from her toes up.  
  
She flushed red, not quite knowing why but reveling in the self satisfied grin and nod that Jack gave on finding her plastered in a light shade of crimson. Turning back to look out at the water, Jack asked, "What could you see?"  
  
Irina returned to her controlled state the moment his gaze left her and answered his question a second too late, "The rainforest is pretty large, we're just about in the middle of it, which isn't surprising considering that the river is here. I can't see any sign of civilization from here and no sign of our pursuers either."  
  
He nodded thoughtfully, "Weather?"  
  
She smiled, not surprised that that was her second question, it was what he had been taught at the CIA, it was what he would always use. "Blue skies from here to as far as I can see. The air was still pretty moist, but I think that must just be the rainforest."  
  
"Is that a good thing or not?" Jack asked, not as knowledgeable as Irina in regards to rainforests.  
  
"Good." She turned to drag her feet out of the water and look him in the eye. "If it rained, everything could flood or it could go to mud. And the amount of leeches would increase."  
  
"Uhuh," Jack responded, obviously still not happy with leeches and their presence within the hideaway rainforest. "Now what?"  
  
Irina shrugged, "We wait."  
  
It was getting dark and still neither had had the guts to decide to move more than ten meters from where they'd been sitting. The bird calls were increasing as they returned to their nests and the scampering of wombats and wallabies could be heard around them and they emerged for their evening meals. Irina leaned back against the tree happily, or so it seemed, to wait forever, while Jack sat, not leaning on anything, blatantly upset with the living arrangements for the night.  
  
They both knew what they were waiting for, but their opinions on when the waiting was over were going to clash. They needed to stay put until the chances of Cameron still being around and attentive had dropped below reasonable. In Jack's mind, he wouldn't have waited more than twenty minutes but Irina, having seen the calm look of defiance on his face knew there was a good chance he was wandering around in the hope of finding them.  
  
With these thoughts most prominent in their minds, Jack stood up and stretched, making as though he was about to leave. Irina looked at him, head cocked as she waited for an answer to her unspoken question. Obliging her, he answered, "I think it's safe, we may as well try to get out of here before night hits."  
  
She shook her head with force. "He's still going to be up there."  
  
"I don't think so." Jack shot back at her, almost before the words were out of her mouth, "What chance does he have of catching us? You said yourself that it was a pretty big rainforest, he's only going to be able to cover a small part of the perimeter, he will have realized this and given up hours ago."  
  
Irina shook her head but stopped the argument before it started, "I don't think so," he voice was calm, but she stood up anyway, "But if you're sure, I have to agree with you." She paused, "You're in charge."  
  
Jack stopped immediately, suddenly unsure of his decision. "Wait," he said to the departing form as Irina moved off in the direction from which they had first entered the small clearing. She paused and turned back to him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why do you think he would still be there?"  
  
She paused, not sure of her answer and the amount of truth that it should hold. His piercing eyes, though, made it seem like lying would be a waste of time anyway. "Gut feeling."  
  
He nodded, silently debating between his own mind which worked logically and his own gut which told him to listen to his wife, in which his trust was growing to unreasonable levels. His own instinct finally winning out, he took a seat again, this time up against a tree as he watched Irina who again refused to do anything without him voicing it first. "Fine, we'll stay," he told her curtly.  
  
She smiled and sat, picking a different tree which gave her access to a new spot of dry land. The valley was still wet with moisture in the air and humid, but somehow was growing cold as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. The light the flickered through the leaves was no longer green but instead filtered blues and aquas glittered with specks of yellows, oranges and reds from the sunset.  
  
Irina basked in the colors while the chilly weather was getting to annoy her. She cuddled herself tighter, wrapping her arms around her legs and burying her head in her lap. Jack watched from afar, feeling the old as well, but not as bad. They were going to need somewhere to sleep and they were going to have to find it soon. He watched her as she snuggled closer to her own body before asking, "Where do you propose we go for some shelter?"  
  
She looked up, the idea seemingly blatant though it had never popped into her mind. She stood immediately knowing where to go. Jack soon stood to follow her along the side of the river.  
  
Ten minutes later they arrived at what Irina had described as a heat island that she had seen from her perch above the fern tree. It was something she'd only seen a few times before but she knew how and why they worked. In the middle of a few rainforests were large black slates of stone, usually along the rivers and covered by thin, almost transparent moss. The black surface remained hot at the end of the day and as Irina leaned into in, placing her hands on it, she felt the heat radiating off still. The whole area was heated and the chills left her as she walked into the middle of the two by two meter block.  
  
The moss was tender under her feet and as she knelt onto it she found it soft and slightly ticklish. She smiled at Jack, "Thanks for bringing this up, I'd completely forgotten about finding somewhere to sleep."  
  
He smiled, not sure what to make of her, "Well done on finding this." He moved over to where she knelt, feeling the heat radiating off. He turned and looked at her, wondering at where she'd learnt of these things but too afraid to ask. "How does it work?"  
  
Irina turned to him and explained the use of the black surface and its attraction and retention of heat. She then went on to point out that they would probably find a hot spring close by too and forcing him to be as quiet as he could, she listened carefully for the sound of water. Hearing what Jack couldn't, she scrambled towards the sound and found the heated water not three meters away.  
  
She smiled, turning back to Jack. "Perfect."  
  
Reviews please... 


	37. Hot plate

I'm backkkk.....please read and review.  
  
Chapter 37.  
  
The appearance of a fresh, hot spring with puddles of still heated water around it brought into sharp relief the knowledge of the dirt that Irina knew she was covered in. Trying to pull a hand through her hair, she realized that it was near impossible and laughed sharply as she pulled two twigs from the brown mass. She turned to Jack who she found was watching her intently, and not bothering to hide it, once again.  
  
She raised an eyebrow as if to ask 'what?' but got no answer. She sighed and turned back to the hot spring, leaning over to let the water trickle through her hair with the help of her palms. Her view now obscured by her hair and hands, she ignored the feeling of Jack's eyes on her for the following five minutes as she scrubbed at her hands and arms, carefully cleaned up her hair and pulled it back into a loose braid.  
  
Then she chose to turn back to Jack and meet his eyes. The moment she did, she knew that his own view had not left her form for the complete time she had been washing. The feeling, though not entirely foreign was slightly frustrating and again she asked him with her eyes what it was he was watching and why, and again he gave no answer.  
  
Clenching her jaw at the lack of knowledge of the situation she turned away but could only ignore him for a few seconds before turning back and asking outright, "What is it that fascinates you about me?"  
  
He smiled, in an almost mischievous way though she could sense the tinge of victory and wondered what it was that he had won. His answer was even more of a riddle, "You think you fascinate me?"  
  
She opened her mouth to respond but had nothing to say, to affirm what he had said would be to leave herself open to attack and to renounce it would be to discount her previous question. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, his smile only broadened as he relaxed back against his own hands.  
  
"Do I?" she eventually answered.  
  
His smile disappeared to be replaced with a blank look which Irina took for a façade and promptly tried to tear through, "Honestly, I would like to know, because for the past few days you have certainly acted like it."  
  
The smile returned, "How so?" he countered.  
  
"Oh," she paused, bidding her time, "You watch me a lot, you're careful never to give me much of a chance to watch you and..." she waited to see if he was interested enough to make her continue and was rewarded when he motioned for her to go on with his hand, "You're really starting to like me."  
  
'Damn that accent,' he thought to himself as he watched her, not sure how to react to her words. A lesson one of his mentors had once taught him about interrogating came back to him: always answer in the way least expected. So he did, "That's true."  
  
Short, but I was desperate to get something out there, again if you want more I've got other fics at Fanfiction.net under the name Aeria.  
  
Thanks, please review even if you hated it. 


	38. Honestly

This is the chapter everyone has been waiting for, thanks for the reviews, keep em coming and I'll keep the chapters coming.  
  
Chapter 38  
  
The shock that passed over Irina's face was evident. If only for a moment before being replaced with a glare that made Jack thank God, and his old mentor, for the help.  
  
"What?" he asked innocently, though his thoughts were anything but.  
  
She sighed, not sure how to respond and decided to actually allow her opposition a small victory in return for escaping the conversation. She changed the subject, "How long are we going to stay down here?"  
  
"How long do you think we should stay down here?" he asked back, adding quickly onto the end, seeing another question being shot his way, "Honestly?"  
  
Irina paused, letting the gentle breeze that was blowing through whip her hair about her face before answering, adopting Jack's previous method of shock treatment and being completely blunt and honest, as he had requested, "Minimum...until tomorrow night."  
  
He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, instead waiting for at least a little elaboration. She continued, "I saw his face, I'm a good judge of character and I know he's still up there. Waiting. We just have to wait until he either leaves or drops his guard low enough that we can sneak past."  
  
"Tomorrow night? Twenty four hours?" Jack asked.  
  
"Minimum."  
  
The silence that followed, for once, was incredibly uncomfortable and neither knew why. Jack sat wondering what he was going to do for twenty four hours while Irina could only imagine why Jack was suddenly giving her charge of the operation.  
  
For the following five minutes, though it felt like a decade, their thoughts meandered around each other, eventually returning to the subject which Irina had abruptly cut short. Despite having risked her own upper hand in changing the subject, Irina was now regretting not pushing for more information, even it was just for the shock that Jack had known perfectly well would ensue.  
  
She glanced up to find him watching her again and rose quickly, suddenly and unpredictably, quite upset. "What are you looking at?" The anger brought her accent out even more, much to Jack's interest.  
  
He looked at her from sitting down. "I," he started defiantly, "Am really starting to get on your nerves."  
  
"Of course you are!" she responded.  
  
He grinned, the small creases around his eyes forming as the humour overtook him. This, of course, only served to upset her even more. "You're infuriating! You always have been!"  
  
He nodded, as though she was commenting on the state of the weather, "How so?"  
  
She glared at him, knowing his game, knowing that he was answering all her questions and looks with the most honest opinions he had because she didn't expect it and it was, indeed, infuriating. But what could she do. Counter it, but how? She wracked her brains trying to work out just how to beat her ever-ready opponent. Smirking slightly, though still enraged, she answered her own question: by giving him a taste of his own medicine.  
  
"I think I've told you all of this before, perhaps you just like hearing it," she paused, watching as the smug look slowly ebbed away from her 'husband's' face. "You're smart, one of only a few people that I actually consider to have half a brain. You know what you're doing and you're most often correct in your assumptions. You know me better than is safe, you can play with me better than anyone else," she paused seeing the smug look was now completely gone as he realized what she was leading to, "You manage to be irresistibly attractive while still," again she paused, this time for effect, "Dangling just out of my reach."  
  
She grinned as he slumped back, the power of her statement hitting him like a tidal wave, but she wasn't finished yet, not quite. "But that's not so bad, that's not the bit that really gets to me." He glared at her, not ready to hear what she had to say, but willing her to say it all the same. "It's the fact that every moment, of every day, I sit there, and watch you watching me and I hate you," he was crushed, he wasn't going to admit it, but he was, he bit his lip, angry at himself more than anything else. The emotion didn't last long as he turned his thoughts, with much force, back to what Irina was saying as she continued to speak, moving to position herself on her knees in front of him, "Almost, as much, I think, as I love you."  
  
She leaned forward, ever so agonizingly slowly, and kept her eyes locked with his until the last moment when her lips gently moving over his. It was brief and mild and simple. She made no move to further the action and after a second, at most, leaned back and sat down across from him. Smiling, she spoke to the obviously shocked man in front of her who was deftly biting his lower lip in a futile attempt to recapture the taste Irina had previewed to him.  
  
"But I wouldn't want to complicate things, would I?" She looked calm and unaffected by what had just taken place but what Jack didn't know was that inside she was holding on by a very thin thread to the small voice of reason that told her not to scramble over the slight area separating them and ravage him until satisfied beyond belief. Instead of doing this she stayed back, waiting, each precious second raising her temperature, it would seem another twenty degrees.  
  
All Jack could do, on the other hand, was stare at her, wondering whether this was some incredibly cruel trick or is she was actually being honest. If she was being honest, for whatever reason, he saw little point to trying to argue with her.  
  
The stalemate lasted another twelve seconds; Irina actually knew this figure as she counted slowly to twenty in her head, positive that she would die if she got to the number. The air was thickening and the undeniable flicker of desire was evident in both sets of eyes.  
  
Yet still Jack wasn't sure and asked, "What did you say?"  
  
Irina looked at him, head cocked as she tried to remember the last this she had said, "I don't remember." She stuttered, her voice rasping at the same time.  
  
Jack grinned, faintly, "Why don't you remember?"  
  
Irina watched him, eyes wide as she saw her opening and dived, not bothering to grab any kind of safety net because she knew, at this stage, that she was already gone, "You wanna know why?"  
  
"Yeah I do." He said, all hesitation leaving him.  
  
"Because I am far, far too busy thinking about how many ways, how many places and how many times I could possibly make love to you before I die."  
  
She shut her mouth abruptly, not sure what she had just given away. Too scared to let the silence ring out she questioned him back, "Why did you have to ask me what I'd said?"  
  
He watched her, knowing what he was thinking was wrong, that it broke more rules than he knew existed and could land him in a million different, equally bad, situations, but at that time it didn't really matter and he answered, not for the shock, but for the honesty, "Because I had to be absolutely sure of where you stood before I did this."  
  
Irina didn't even have the time to comprehend what it was that he had said before their lips were joined again. This time, however, the kiss wasn't mild but roaring hot and there was very little care taken as was evident as Jack's hands roughly grabbed her upper arms to forcefully drag her closer to him.  
  
Both knew that bruises were already forming, both where Jack's hands had grabbed her and where Irina's back, somehow, miraculously, was now pushed up again the foot high pile of rocks from which the hot spring was now sending heated water down Irina's back.  
  
The kiss was good, neither would deny it if questioned and as they took the time to explore each other's mouths again, to feel out and taste just what they continued to chastise themselves over having missed for twenty years, the air became scarce and they reluctantly pulled apart.  
  
Jack looked up at the beautifully messed up woman in front of him from where his head rested on her shoulder, his breath coming in heavy, work- laden breaths. Her head was leaning back, her hair getting wet along with her back as she, too, fought for breath.  
  
She glanced at him and saw the raw look of need flittering over his face. She grinned; she loved when he got like this, though it hadn't happened for over twenty years and even then the power behind him had never been quite so full-on. She grinned, "You gonna keep going? Or would you rather take it slow?"  
  
She moved in, but he stopped her with a hand on her side, his thumb stroking her abdomen tenderly to counteract what she might have taken as withdrawal. "Before that, there is just one little thing that, if I don't tell you right now, I'll die."  
  
Her brow creased as the million things that he could say which would ruin this little adventure crept into her mind. Tentatively, she asked, "What?"  
  
Reviews!! 


	39. Bonding

Here's some more, thank you for reviewing  
  
Chapter 39  
  
He smiled, only a little before muttering, "I love," he paused, again, stringing her along, though not for long as the heat radiating from her was deadly, "I love your accent."  
  
He grinned as she grinned back, licking her lips with anticipation, "Is that all you love?"  
  
"No," he answered, moving back up for another kiss. However, the moment his lips touched hers, he felt her move back, angling her head up back into the stream of water again. He sighed, realizing he was not going to get away with silence and instantly knew just what it was he had to say, relived, in a way to finally be able to say it, he whispered into her neck, "I love you too."  
  
"Better," she said, her voice breathless just with the words and the hot breath she could feel on her neck. Her hands, wet and slick, went to cup his face as she slid down lower, moving down until her face was level with his, the water flow that had been caressing her back replaced as his hands flew around her, dragging her to him until there wasn't an inch of his body that wasn't pressed against hers.  
  
He leaned in for a kiss and was immediately rewarded as her mouth opened under his. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip nipping softly before sharing a long, passionate kiss which had both pairs of hands re-exploring the ever-interesting ground.  
  
Surprisingly, it wasn't as rough as it had been previously. It was still as passionate and raw with desire, but the exploration took into account the fact that they did have time and that there was a need for some, small, restraint. Her arm slithered up his back to the nape of his neck where she played with the hair there, letting her fingers slide up and under as the hair swept over her fingers.  
  
Irina grinned against Jack's mouth causing him to pause and giving her the time she needed to move back and admire the man in front of her. His face was redder than it had been minutes before and his eyes a few shades darker. She smiled again, a mischievous smile, holding her thoughts at bay as she just basked in the pleasure of it all, "You know, now that I think about it...twenty four hours might not be enough time."  
  
It took a second for the double meaning to sink into Jack's mind, the thick haze sitting around him hindering it and the dumb look causing slight giggles to erupt from deep in Irina's throat. He looked at her upon realizing what she meant and smiled back, leaning in for what she expected to be another kiss.  
  
At the last moment he moved down, his lips missing hers and landing on her jaw bone, scattering feather light kisses up and down as Irina's hands continued to play with his hair and his shoulders, slipping over them alongside the water that was progressively making them wetter.  
  
He licked up her jaw line to her ear where he kissed just behind and then in front of it, hoping that this was torture to her, though, of course, in a good way. She moaned under his lips, wanting desperately for him to move on but at the same time wanting him to slow down.  
  
He took it as a signal and let his lips move, agonizingly slowly, to her ear lobe, gently sucking on it and feeling her shake beneath him as she tried, desperately, to hold herself together.  
  
He pulled back, kissing her again, soundly on the lips, pushing her back further into the stream of water. As his lips moved lower, hovering down her neck and then back up, ravaging her like he had wanted to for years, Irina chanced voicing her thoughts, half in the hope of calming what was fast developing into something Jack might very well regret and half in the hope that she would get some affirmative, convincing words against what was sure to end in tears.  
  
On the one hand she wasn't about to stop something she'd been waiting twenty years for and that was better than anything she had ever imagined, but on the other, she wasn't about to encourage it, her thoughts were leaking back into her mind and the doubt was securely rooted there. As a moan escaped her lips, despite her thoughts, she realized she was doing just that, encouraging the man before her.  
  
Swallowing, she spoke, her voice raspy and heavy from the lust, "Jack." He made no move to stop or slow down, the sound of her voice, apparently, only egging him on. She stilled her hands on his back, still not quite ready to remove them completely but determined to get her thoughts out. "Jack," she said again, this time slightly more insistent. "Are you sure?"  
  
He answered only with a mumble as he nipped at her collar bone causing her to shudder despite her current resolve. "Jack," she said fiercely, pushing him back hard enough to remove his lips from her throat. "Listen to me." He watched her from under heavy eyelids, obviously unsure of what was going on, but not angry yet.  
  
"Are you sure?" she repeated her question more slowly, watching him for any sign of anything.  
  
Reviews please and you shall be rewarded. 


	40. The Morning After

Chapter 40  
  
Her eyes fluttered open as the filtered morning sunlight broke through the trees over head. She yawned before, self-consciously, very slowly looking down. Her brow creased as she found her clothing intact and only slightly disturbed, she looked to where the heavy yet welcome weight lay sprawled alongside her and opened her mouth in a silent question.  
  
Jack just beamed at her, his eyes radiant and a finger straying up to tap her on the nose in an affectionate way she remembered as though it was only yesterday when it had been considered commonplace. He smiled as he shut his eyes and she followed suit, closing her own, happy to let the previous night's adventure wash over her.  
  
She remembered everything, the kissing, of course, but the smells and tastes, the simplicity of it all and Jack telling her that he was, indeed, completely sure. To this, she recalled she'd grinned and they'd both understood the beauty that their relationship had captured.  
  
Not ten minutes later they'd both been dozing, comfortable and warm within each other's embrace. They could wait until they weren't stuck in the middle of the Australia rainforest and without impending death.  
  
"Happy?" his rough voice interrupted her thoughts.  
  
"You have no idea..." she let the statement hang as she yawned again, stretching into him and then slowly moving away. "I think we should get a move on," she said as she stood up and flexed her shoulders. She moved to the cool spring and bent to drink and wash her face. A moment later she was refreshed and ready to go. She took her seat and watched as Jack mirrored her movements.  
  
"Ready?" he asked.  
  
"As always." He nodded and waited. "Plan?" she eventually asked.  
  
"What's yours?"  
  
"Get out, pick up the kids and then, Where? When? How?..."  
  
"That's not exactly what I meant," he countered moving towards her. "How do we get out?"  
  
"I'm sure with such...motivation...as ours, that it can be arranged." She looked to him, winking playfully hoping he understood that she was still quite desperate to find the right time and place to finish what they'd started the night previous.  
  
He fixed her with a serious look, standing in front of her and staring her down, she responded quickly and in a matter-of-fact tone, "We head south, we'll reach the start of the creek eventually and we will be at higher ground, from there we head for civilization. If we happen to run into the bad guys on the way...we steal a phone and get the kids to pick us up."  
  
"How do you know that the creek will start to the south?" he retorted, letting his hands stray to her hips.  
  
"That's where we came from, he's smart, he was based on high ground, he wants the control. I noticed the creek there and most of the way down here I could see it or see signs it was there."  
  
"Ah," Jack whispered, pulling her closer, "Brilliant."  
  
She wasn't sure if he was referring to her or Cameron but as he leaned in for a chaste kiss she was sure that it really didn't matter.  
  
He moved away and she glared at him as though he'd just shown her great disrespect and dragged him back for a more adventurous taste. Ten minutes later he dragged himself away, staring at her as he tried to comprehend his continued lack of power, not only over her, but over himself.  
  
"If we keep doing that," he paused for breath, "We will be stuck down here forever."  
  
"Well then, we should be leaving, the sooner we move, the sooner this thing is over, the sooner we..." She grinned at him like a Cheshire cat before turning south, away from where the creek seemed to be coming from and began the trek off.  
  
Jack took only a moment to admire her poise before moving after her, completely content to let her lead, knowing that his view was so much better.  
  
Duh Duh Duh...hello???? I really need to get better with my consistency, I know...more soon, definitely, it's already written, if there's anyone left who actually remembers this fic, I hope you find it in you to review cause I luvs em...no matter how short or long they are...please... 


	41. Securing of Assets

Chapter 41  
  
Walking alone, Irina's feet now quite sore in her cursed sandals, the pair began to realize the change in flora: the greens were less green and the trees taller and more scattered. Underfoot the ground wasn't as moist and there was a lack of that humid, dewy smell they'd gotten used to. Up ahead the Australian Bush stretched out before them.  
  
Of what she could remember from the day before, they could only have driven a maximum of seven miles before coming to their temporary hiding space and then only a couple more into the forest on foot. She guessed, quite loosely, that they were still a couple of miles off where they had been originally held.  
  
The elaborated plan that the two had decided on earlier in the afternoon was to gain access to several things, top priority: a car with a full tank and, if possible, weapons, maps and a communications device. But a car would do nicely. All they hoped for was that Cameron would have gone off on something more important and left them with only Furgul and Fergus to deal with; regarding this, Irina had the same sinking feeling as Jack in her stomach and knew plain well it would not be so easy.  
  
Turning to look at him as the ground flattened out again she took the time to ask him, "So, Jack, what's next for us?" The way she pronounced the word 'us' made it perfectly clear what it was she wanted Intel on.  
  
He eyed her, debating inside himself whether or not this was a good time to discuss the topic and deciding that it was possible it would be the only time. "Irina, I honestly don't know." He paused then, unsure of where the conversation should turn, "What would you like to be next?"  
  
She smiled at him, that sad half-smile of the person who knows that happiness is unattainable. "Me?" the ironic look entered her eyes, "What do I want? Well, a nice house, nothing too big but big enough, dinner with my daughter at least once a week along wither adoring boyfriend. A dog maybe, a big bed and an abundance of time."  
  
Jack's eyes mirrored her own sad look of defeat as he saw that only now that they knew what they wanted should they realize that it was completely unattainable. "Ah, but that requires one thing you don't have. Freedom."  
  
"Yes, and most likely I'll never have it." She stopped, not wanting to be upset. She took on a happy air and continued, "Still there will be missions, I'll continue to cooperate and who knows, I might get an outing once a month." Jack looked ready to add his own two cents but she was on a roll, "We could never be seen in public together, not unless you were staring at me with that well-known hatred in your eyes, but I suppose you might get stuck with the job of escorting me."  
  
Her eyes went to her feet as they moved along. "That's what I have to look forward to Jack, a couple of hours with you, unable to speak or touch, every month. Best scenario possible."  
  
"We," he interjected. She looked up, not understanding the comment, too caught up in her own tragedy. "That's what we would have to put up with, what we have to look forward to. And the missions, you never know...success means another mission..."  
  
She smiled at him but he saw through it. She tried again, "Do you think they'd let me out for Sydney and Vaughn's wedding?"  
  
The briefest of shocked looks crossed Jack's face before he waggled a finger at her, "You're still going to provoke me aren't you?" She nodded, happy for the playfulness of their new topic. "Still going to push me until I teeter on the edge of insanity, argue with me whenever you can find something to argue about." Her nodding became more certain as he continued. He grinned at her, grabbing for her hand and pulling her close to his side, their steps falling in sync, "Good," he whispered into her ear.  
  
He kissed her softly on the side of her head, smelling her again. She smiled, knowing that she'd undoubtedly have to replay this scene a million times to keep her happy but knowing she had some of the best memories she could ask for. "You think it's good that I get to you?" she queried.  
  
"Of course I do," he leaned in, his breath hot against her ear again, he was certainly good at this, "If you haven't noticed, you screaming, provoking or just annoying the hell out of me is actually just a wonderfully unique way for you to show off your best assets."  
  
She pulled away from him, dropping his hand on the way as his breath became too much to handle and his words too interesting to be muddled in her haste to pin him against the nearest thing solid. "My best assets?"  
  
"Mmmmm?"  
  
"My best assets?" she repeated.  
  
"Oh, your body, you smile, you smirks. Eyes, hair, mouth, neck, shoulders, arms, legs, stomach..."  
  
"How terribly superficial," she interrupted, taking on the voice of a snob to accentuate her teasing mood.  
  
"I wasn't finished...Your poise, posture, grace, elegance, confidence, intelligence, honesty, vulnerability, passions, desires..."  
  
"My desires?" again she interrupted.  
  
He shook his head, "I could keep going..."  
  
"I've heard enough. Any more and we'll have to stop and...sit down...for a while." She winked playfully before moving on, her gait quicker.  
  
Up ahead an unnatural glint of red stopped Jack in his tracks. Irina stopped instantaneously beside him and looked where he was looking. Another red four-wheel drive sat about two hundred meters in front of them and beside that sat the scatter of small buildings.  
  
The place seemed to be deserted.  
  
Still, not taking any chances, the pair moved quickly, through the trees, using them as cover until the car was just a ten-meter dash across the clearing.  
  
Irina looked at Jack and Jack looked back, together they silently counted to three. On three they leapt forward towards the car. Half way there were stopped by the audible sound of several gun being aimed at them.  
  
"I knew you'd come back. And this time, I know exactly who I'm dealing with, so I called in some help." Cameron, and another ten armed professionals, surrounded them.  
  
So, now that they're together, you think that the tension and arguing is over, well, wait til you see what's next. Not to mention the bad guy, the mission, Syd and Vaughn and the future.  
  
Reviews if you may... 


	42. The weaker target

Chapter 42  
  
To J/I ers, sorry, had to throw some S/V in, they're cute anyways. It was sort of quicker. Hmmm, please review. Good chapter coming up.  
  
Syd paced the hotel room. She was very, very upset. Her and Vaughn had checked in with every person on every criminal list that the CIA had for Victoria. They'd interrogated all of them and, while a few men had been helpful enough to throw flirting answers at Sydney, it was safe to say that no one had a clue where her parents were.  
  
"How is this even possible?" she asked, doing her best to keep her cool.  
  
"Honey," Vaughn was upset, albeit not as upset as Syd, but he was worried. "They'll be fine."  
  
She glared at him and the power of her look was enough to make him step back, "Vaughn, the mere fact that no one knows where they are means that they are in a lot of trouble. I would be happier knowing that the Melbourne underworld had taken them hostage. At least then we'd know they were captives of someone who still made the mistake of letting that information loose."  
  
Vaughn knew she was right. He sighed, grabbing her hand and leading her to sit beside him on the bed. He held her face, forcing her to look at him, "What do you want to do?"  
  
She pursed her lips and shook her head slightly. A silent tear rolled down her face for what seemed the hundredth time in the last twenty four hours. "I don't know." Vaughn leaned in, gently kissing her and holding her close to him.  
  
O  
  
Irina sat, hands and feet secured in moulded cuffs on a metal chair which, in turn was bolted to the ground. Across the floor, in the opposite corner, Jack sat in a similar manner, head angled backwards as Cameron pulled on his hair to accentuate the seriousness of the knife he held across Jack's neck.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked. Jack remained silent. "Last chance."  
  
The trickle of blood the followed had Jack's eyes flickering to Irina whose expression told him, quite plainly to start cooperating. "You claim you already know," he spat out.  
  
Cameron sighed in a seemingly bored way and let go of Jack's hair while removing the blade in a smooth movement that made sure there was still a cut but not enough to cause any real damage.  
  
"I do know who you are." He countered, walking over to behind Irina and leaning against the back of her chair, his fingers playing with her shoulders. "I'm just interested to see if you know."  
  
Jack's brow creased despite his decision to stay blank.  
  
"What do you mean?" Irina asked.  
  
"What do I mean?" Cameron asked flippantly. "Well, you see I have a problem. I have a lot of conflicting information on the two of you and I'm interested to see who you are at this very moment..."  
  
Irina caught Jack's gaze, blinking rapidly, asking him for the plan through Morse only to be told there wasn't one. Ignoring Cameron's continued one- sided conversation, she fired back a question of how much information to divulge to which the two very quickly established a sketchy half truth which would provide answers to the questions they were being asked.  
  
Thankful they were being questioned in the same room and that Cameron was self centered enough to continue talking for so long. The situation was looking up. The quick-fire of exchange was cut off as Cameron fluidly moved in front of Irina, shoving his face into hers and breathing the question. "Who do you work for Miss Derevko?"  
  
She glared at him, seemingly defiant. He pulled out the blade and put it to her cheek, slowly drawing it down her face adding pressure until the blood began to ooze. He paused, giving her time to speak. "I am currently...advising...the CIA."  
  
Cameron pulled back. "So the documents say."  
  
He turned to Jack. "You...have always been faithful to the CIA. Yet, you were a double agent at one point. Not a nice job, being a double agent is it. Ever get tempted into just crossing over?"  
  
Jack shook his head uttering a plain, "No."  
  
"Hmm, shame, the pays a lot better." He turned back around, "You know, it's interesting..."  
  
"What is?" Irina was getting a feel for the conversation and if one thing was obvious, Mr Black's weak spot was his own self-confidence, in himself and what he thought knew.  
  
"It's interesting that the CIA has you and yet you're still alive. Better than that, you're on holiday in Australia. Sure, you're here to find a Rambladi artifact, but they've let you cross the Pacific."  
  
She grinned though Jack couldn't see it, Cameron's body blocking his view, "I'm very persuasive."  
  
"I can't help but wonder who it is you've been nice to in order to attain such freedom."  
  
The irony hit her like a brick. This moron thought she was free. That she had freedom. That could only mean one thing. He thought she was still her own woman, that she had ulterior motives and that in the end she'd just turn and leave.  
  
He was aiming for her, not Jack. Jack had indeed stayed loyal to the CIA through years of hell; he wasn't going to be persuaded. But Irina...  
  
"What's your interest with us?" she queried.  
  
"I'm not a big fan of Rambaldi, haven't heard anything good about him, all a bunch of bull-s*** if you ask me. However – "  
  
"His artifacts are worth a lot," Irina interjected, finishing his sentence for him.  
  
On the other side of the room, Jack stayed quiet, not sure if he held any sway at all with either of them any more.  
  
"Indeed," a smile graced their captor's face as he narrowed his eyes and surveyed the woman in front of him. "This Dury box, how much is it worth?"  
  
"Oh, it's priceless for sure. But I could offer you a fairly large amount." She grinned to hide the sick feeling at the pit of her stomach. This wasn't the plan her and Jack had just decided on and she couldn't see him. God she hoped he caught on.  
  
"How?" Cameron asked forcefully. "You have no money."  
  
"I'm surprised, I thought you of all people, with your endless knowledge of me and Agent Bristow, would know. I withdrew all my money only a couple of days ago. At the moment, I'm a very wealthy woman." Irina played the bluff, he should already know this. If he knew where that money had gone, where it had been accessed or why, she was a goner. If he hadn't known at all, he'd check and he'd probably ask for all the details. Hopefully, he knew the money had been taken out but the CIA had been intelligent enough to hide it well that she had not been the one to access the cash.  
  
She watched the frown turn to a look of delight. He knew she was rich. Selfish and Greedy. Wonderful. He whistled and a moment later a guard dressed to the hilt in stealth gear appeared. The keys were passed through the metal bars and the man disappeared out through the door again. "I take it you already have the object of my desire?"  
  
"God no, the two of you only evaded me for a day." Her face fell, this could cause problems. Luckily, this look earned her further trust from the idiot in front of her. "It should be here within a half hour. I sent some men out to get it a few hours ago."  
  
She smiled as he unlocked he cuffs, careful not to look at Jack. She stood up, stretching like a cat and turned to Cameron who was offering his hand, she took it and they shook as business partners. It didn't matter that he already had a gun aimed at her.  
  
"One thing I would like to know, she asked him, "How did you find so much out about us?"  
  
"I cracked the CIA computer systems about a year ago. Being in Australia means they don't notice when I use their information because I so rarely need to."  
  
Irina nodded, impressed. Suddenly Cameron was talking to her again, "Despite all of this, I do need to be sure that you're on my side." He glanced at Jack who was looking bewildered. "Put a bullet in him."  
  
Hope you enjoyed it. 


	43. Taking Control of the Situation

Chapter 43  
  
The faint flicker of fear moved over her face but Cameron was far too enthralled with the look of plain shock that crossed Jack's face which may or may not have been fake.  
  
"You want me to shoot a CIA agent?" she couldn't even say his name. It was Sydney all over again and this time if she didn't shoot him they were both either dead or worse.  
  
"Yes..." he pulled out a gun from his belt and swiftly removed all but one of the bullets. "I want you to shoot the man who still manages to fall for your little act. I know what your game is."  
  
Taking the gun, aware that there was still a gun, with far more bullets in it, trained on her, she took her aim. She playfully let the gun move across Jack's body, down from his head to his heart. Not an option, across to the side.  
  
"Careful, wouldn't want to miss." Cameron put his own gun away and reached around Irina with both hands, pulling the gun back to target Jack's heart.  
  
Keeping her cool, though fast running out of options, Irina laughed, "You don't want me to shoot a CIA agent, you want me to kill one? You should be more specific."  
  
"Perhaps," she could sense the look behind her as Cameron moved back, not sure what to make of the question.  
  
Her eyes connected with Jack's at that moment and she saw him mouth the word 'Go.' Trusting him with far more than her life, she didn't hesitate; Cameron was half way through getting his gun back out and as he saw the motion in front of him he hurried to get a firm grip on it.  
  
Irina, taking no chances, served a quick kick to his side and grabbed his arm, shoving him up against the metal bars. He dropped the gun without question.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said, voice crisp and harsh, "But that's not an option."  
  
"I didn't think the rumors could have been true," Cameron grunted out, "But they are, aren't they?" He sounded incredulous and she had a good idea of what he was referring to. "You love him." He spat the words out as though they left him with a sour taste in him mouth. For a moment, Irina pitied him.  
  
It was a statement but she sensed he had no idea what he was talking about. "More than anything else on this planet," her voice was sharp, but Jack didn't miss the sideway glance she threw him. "And that is why, the Dury Box means little if it requires his death."  
  
At the moment, the door to the cell block opened and a short, geeky kind of guy walked through, his head down and a small box clutched in his pale hands. "You know," he muttered as he turned to close the door without looking up, "I never would have thought it existed."  
  
He turned and glanced up, his gasp quite audible and Irina watched from her position behind Cameron as the little man almost dropped the box. He swallowed and looked loyally to Cameron for instruction.  
  
He began to speak but Irina grabbed a handful of hair and pulled his head back with a sharp yank, cutting off the words before they were out of his mouth. "Put the Dury box down and stand in the corner over there. "She motioned with the gun to the furthest corner from the door. "Any weapons?"  
  
He shook his head vigorously as he did what he'd been told. She believed him. She looked around, a little lost as to what to do now. What she really needed was for Jack to be free but he wasn't. And she couldn't leave her captive alone, he was smart, to a degree, and he was fit. She bit her lip.  
  
"Right," her voice was authoritative and assured, despite how she was feeling. "Mr Black, how many men are outside?"  
  
He made no move to speak but with a sharp knee in the small of his back he quickly answered, "Twelve."  
  
That was too many, even for the two of them. And everyone in the room knew it.  
  
"You," she looked to who she assumed was a scientist of sorts who was huddled in the corner, "I want you to come here, take the keys from Mr Black and free Agent Bristow."  
  
He immediately looked to Cameron who gave a short nod. Cautiously, he made his way over to the two of them, approaching like a very tentative slug. He grasped the keys and scuttled back, not prepared to turn his back on the woman with the gun.  
  
She only glared at him and waited while he slowly unlocked the cuffs on the chair and allowed Jack to escape.  
  
As soon as he was able, Jack stood up and served a quick right hook, he felt the jaw collapse under his fist and the man crumpled to the floor unconscious. He looked to Irina and awarded her a fully-fledged grin, "Thanks."  
  
She smiled back, the corner of her mouth twitching up as she tried to remain serious, "No problem."  
  
Reviews are keeping you with lots of updates, I'm doing better than usual with this. Thanks for providing them. 


	44. Getting out

Chapter 44  
  
Cameron wasn't looking too happy but it wasn't as though he didn't deserve everything he was getting. "Right," Jack walked over, picking up the only other gun on the way. "Got any ideas?"  
  
Irina glanced at him, doing her best not to let her eyes off her captive. "There are twelve of them, two of us. Six each?" He could hear it in her voice that she didn't think that that was really an option. Neither did he.  
  
Jack shrugged, all the while his mind ticking over, running at a hundred miles a minute, trying to find a way out of their little dilemma. Not to mention, time was running out, eventually someone was going to walk through that door and then there simply wouldn't be any time to formulate a plan.  
  
Irina bit her lip, a habit that was fast becoming something that Jack looked at as being fascinating. But right now, he couldn't let his mind wander. His eyes suddenly lit up and Irina knew, "You know how we're going to get out of this..." She grinned.  
  
He inclined is head as though in acceptance of a great compliment, which, he supposed, it was in a way. Beating Irina to the answer; impressive and he saw that she thought so too. "We take the hostage. Hope to God they don't get a clear shot."  
  
Irina nodded, not the best plan, but the best they were going to come up with. "Do you want the guns or the madman?"  
  
Cameron grunted in protest at her accusation of insanity but he was quickly shut up as she shoved the gun into his ribs hissing at him in warning. "You seem to be getting on well with him. I'll take the guns," Jack answered.  
  
She could feel the hope radiating off Mr Black as he thought over the prospect that they seemed to be offering; they were going to use him, but 'guns' meant that Jack was going to have both, so how were they going to control him? He was in with a chance. Irina only smiled, "Now, Mr Black, I warn you, it is absolutely true that my husband is going to be the only one with a gun, so yes, this may be your best shot to run. However, I must also warn you, that I can easily kill you with the slightest of twists to the neck. So, before you even contemplate trying to get away before we see fit, think about your own health. You of all people must know I am not one to suffer fools."  
  
Jack raised his eyebrows in appreciation at the speech; it had Cameron rethinking his escape-design. "Right," Irina was in charge, Jack wasn't about to argue. "Do you mind grabbing the box?" Jack knew it was a real option to leave it, Irina wasn't just telling him to take it; she was giving him the choice. If he took it, he'd have a Rambaldi artifact, if he left it, he wouldn't. But he knew the Irina would rather he took it. It was amazing that she was even asking him, giving him the choice. It proved one thing, beyond doubt. She wanted him more than she wanted Rambaldi artifacts. It brought a warm glow to him.  
  
But why leave it here when he could so easily take it with them. It was small, sort of like a small jewelry box and he could fit it, with only a little difficulty, into his back pocket. Irina rearranged her arms to get a firm grip around Cameron's throat before throwing the gun in a graceful arc to Jack who was standing near the door, both guns now drawn.  
  
"Bullets?" he asked, remembering that all the bullets had been taken out except one in Irina's weapon. She nodded, lightening her grip on the hostage. He sighed slightly before pulling a handful from his pocket; Jack took them and hurriedly loaded the gun.  
  
"On three?" Irina asked, moving, along with Cameron, over to him.  
  
"Déjà vu." Jack smirked.  
  
Irina grinned back, the familiar adrenaline rush coursing through her. "One..."  
  
"Two..."  
  
"Three..." They burst through the door with the minimum amount of noise possible. Jack stood in front while Irina, not one to be left out, made sure it was plainly obvious that the boss's neck was only seconds from breaking if she felt that need.  
  
Outside it was quiet. Irina knew immediately that, despite sounding like a cliché, it was too quiet. Not even the wildlife seemed to be moving. They were here somewhere. Twelve armed men.  
  
Across the clearing, another four-wheel drive sat, dark green in colour and apparently in good condition. Cautiously, they moved towards it, one step at a time, dragging the difficult man along with them.  
  
The crunch of boot on leaf litter made Irina's head snap around and she saw him just before he saw them, shouting loudly. Jack looked to where the noise was coming from and placed a shot which quickly silenced it. Too late though. A moment later, men were spilling out of the secondary building, guns drawn and aimed at them, a few taking off course shots in an aim to startle them.  
  
Jack took another two men out while Irina continued to haul the ever obnoxious deadweight towards the car. They were still a good fifteen meters off. At the edge of her vision she saw Jack doing his best to get a clear shot in but the opposition had the blatant advantage, not only were there more of them but they were now using the building as cover.  
  
"s***," Jack hit one last man before turning and grabbing Cameron, taking most of his weight and hauling him towards the car. Not too much further. Just as they arrived he felt the searing heat in his right arm and he knew it could only be one thing. Wrenching open the door, he collapsed in, dumping their hostage in the back seat and watching as Irina jumped in front of the wheel.  
  
He pulled the door shut and turned just in time to see Cameron scuttling out the opposite car door, he went to go after him but Irina's hand on his back stopped him short.  
  
Irina, looking to her left, saw a bullet ricochet off the window. It was a bulletproof car. And the keys, she quickly found, were in glove compartment.  
  
She jabbed them into the ignition and felt the car roar into life, next to her, Jack clambered into the front seat. She didn't bother to look at him, not yet, first she had to drive them out of this mess. Flooring it, she felt the tires trying to get a grip and the moment they did, they were off, a hundred kilometers an hour, through rough terrain, doing her best to dodge the scattered trees.  
  
Ten minutes later, there was no sign of another car and Irina slowed to a safer pace. It was then that she realized Jack hadn't said anything since their escape. She glanced over at him and saw the blood-stained seat and the mess of shirt and flesh dripping with the red liquid. "s***."  
  
Reviews Please 


	45. Fleshwounds

Chapter 45  
  
She slammed on the breaks, the tires squealing to a halt beneath them. Scrambling across the seat, she looked at Jack, trying to see how bad the damage was. He wasn't unconscious but his eyes were shut and his left hand had lifted to grasp at the wound, trying to stem the blood flow. Irina looked around at the blood. There was a lot, but not enough to be critical. Still, she was worried.  
  
Tentatively she placed her hand on his cheek, feeling his skin, cold and clammy. His eyes shot open at the skin on skin contact and he smiled at her faintly, capable of loving her for the tenderness with which she ran her thumb over his lips.  
  
"I have to take a look the wound," she told him, her voice shaky.  
  
Knowing she was right, he moved his hand away, watching her as she leaned in rather than watch the hole in his shoulder. Typically, her face revealed nothing, her full lips pursed and her eyelashes obscuring her brown eyes. Moving slowly, her fingers went to the top of his arm and cautiously pulled at the material. He gasped but she didn't stop.  
  
When she finally had enough to the shredded cotton out of the way she took a better look. The wound looked deep and there was little clotting blood, most was still fresh and running.  
  
"I have to look at the back of your shoulder." He grunted in acknowledgment and bit down on his lip as she helped him move far enough to his left that she could see where the bullet had hopefully exited. At her sigh, apparently of relief, he moved back to slumping against the chair.  
  
"You were lucky," he didn't feel it, "Flesh wound, straight through. If we could just get it bandaged, we won't have any problems."  
  
Jack nodded, suspecting she was simplifying the situation but relieved that it wasn't too serious. He'd already known that the bone hadn't been broken but the pain and blood were telling him it wasn't just a skimming of his arm either.  
  
Irina was watching him now, apparently over her original worry, she smiled, "You're going to have to lose the shirt."  
  
He looked at her, slightly bewildered that she'd choose not to make a pass at him. For every moment that passed her grin grew larger, she basked in this embarrassment until he caught on, putting two and two together and recognizing what she meant. "Ah," he replied and raised his working arm to fumble with the buttons. Two minutes and three buttons later, he could sense the woman to his left, smiling broadly and having fun at his expense. He finally gave up. Looking to her with a glare about his features.  
  
She just smirked at him, clicking her tongue and leaning over to make quick work of the remaining buttons and gently slip the shirt from his shoulders. She smiled at him serenely, doing her absolute best no to let her eyes wander. Taking the shirt, she ripped the right, blood-soaked sleeve and carefully shredded the remaining material into strips.  
  
It took five minutes of stinging pain and difficult fumbling but eventually the wound was wrapped in the dirty shirt. As long as it stemmed the bleeding and didn't cause too bad an infection, they would be fine from there on.  
  
Now that that had been dealt with, Irina struggled back into the driver's seat and checked the fuel gauge. They had an almost full tank and she'd noticed a map book 'The Melways' sticking out from under the seat. She pulled it out, looking to Jack every few seconds who would only look back at her, an unreadable look in his eyes.  
  
Working out a rough location wasn't too hard, several of the maps were dog- eared and they all linked up. She was surprised to find that they weren't actually that far from civilization.  
  
Explaining the situation to Jack, she pointed out their full tank, the plan that they drive south-east until they came to a road and then take it from there. She'd found a mobile phone and she planned on calling Sydney once they were driving again. Jack nodded and told her to find the closest airport.  
  
"Already have," she answered back, opening the maps up again to an airport that, while smaller than the one from which they had came, still supported international jets.  
  
"Right," Jack said, "I'm sure you can manage to get us out of here." She nodded and started the engine up, turning to her left slightly and continuing through the bushland.  
  
A few moments later when she'd established what appeared to be an easy stretch of bush ahead, at least for the time being, she picked up the phone and dialed the hotel which promptly put her through to Sydney's suite, apparently all calls were to be let through without question.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
The voice on the other end was groggy and a whisper but there was no mistaking it as Agent Vaughn. "Michael, where's Sydney?"  
  
"Sydney?" he obviously hadn't woken up yet. If Irina was right he'd probably only just gotten to sleep when she'd rang, she wondered what time it was outside. Late afternoon perhaps. He paused and she let the information sink in. His revelation came a second later, "Irina?"  
  
"Yes," a simplistic answer but one that served its purpose.  
  
"My God. Where's Jack? Are you okay? What happened to you?" the questions gushed out.  
  
She smiled, it was nice to know he cared, "Jack's here, he's been hit, flesh wound only but there's quite a bit of blood. Other than that we're fine. It's a long story." She answered each question systematically.  
  
He seemed to have pulled himself together by this stage and was able to answer the question, "She's just nodded off to sleep. We've been worried as hell. No one had a clue where you were."  
  
She understood but this was not the time, nor the place to discuss Cameron. "Look, Michael, we've got the Dury Box, but if the Australian Authorities find out what we've been up to we won't be leaving the country for a few weeks. I need you to get a private jet to Avalon airport in six hours. We'll meet you there in four."  
  
She knew what he was going to ask even before she'd finished speaking, "Where the hell am I supposed to get a private jet from? And in six hours? It can't be done, especially not without alerting the Australian officials that something's up."  
  
She smiled, looking at Jack who was eyeing her with a certain mixture of distaste and admiration. "I know someone who knows someone, and the first someone owes me a favor. Don't talk just write," she knew he was about to interrupt, "I need you to call this number," she quoted it to him, "Ask for Danny, reference 6-4-7 and tell him exactly what you need and when."  
  
There was pause on the other end and she wondered whether he'd be capable of smashing so many protocols at once. "You're sure this will work?"  
  
"Yeah, trust me. I'll call back in an hour to make sure everything is in place. Until then..." She hung up the phone before he had the chance to argue.  
  
Back at the hotel suite, Vaughn gently replaced the phone. He and Sydney had finally collapsed from the exhaustion only a couple of hours before, holding each other close on the bed until they both succumbed to sleep.  
  
Only Vaughn had been woken by the phone and on the third ring he'd answered. The hotel receptionist had informed him he had a call and he'd accepted, expecting the CIA or an Australian contact. The voice and conversation that had followed could not have been predicted.  
  
Now, he had to smile, trust the two of them to be able to get themselves out of trouble. He looked forward to hearing just what had happened, not to mention how they had managed to find the Dury Box during their own kidnapping.  
  
He moved back to the bed and bent over it, gently shaking Sydney until she woke, her eyes wide as she suspected bad news. He smiled at her reassuringly and waited patiently for her to come fully to her senses. Once she had, he quickly explained the situation to her, watching her as the smile grew and she finally collapsed onto him in a hug as she was allowed to stop worrying at last.  
  
She regained her control and for a moment, it appeared as though she was thinking the same thing he had only minutes before. And momentarily she did pondered just what had happened, but then she was all business. She grabbed the phone and called the number Irina had given to Michael.  
  
Jack had suspected she would 'know someone who knew someone'. And he couldn't really blame her, she was absolutely right, the Australian authorities were going to want a lot of questions answered and they were not going to want them answered in the States.  
  
"You need to get some rest," Irina told him. "It's only a bullet; if it doesn't bleed it makes no difference if you're asleep or awake."  
  
She was right, but something was eating at him. They were meeting Sydney and Vaughn at the airport in less than four hours. Then they were on a plane for fifteen and then they were back. He had, arguably less than twenty four hours until Irina would be locked up again and while he was acknowledging it he could almost smell the fear on her breath as she thought about it.  
  
He was sure that she would have run right there and then had she not known it would upset him and Sydney so much. To her, being stuck in a single cell indefinitely was the worst kind of torture.  
  
Hope you guys enjoyed it, heaps more where that came from. Reviews please 


	46. Packing and Disguising

Chapter 46  
  
It was strange to be driving along with someone with whom he had been through so much. Hard to materialize exactly what it felt like but just the knowledge of everything that they'd been through. He'd loved her, while she'd loved her job, they'd had Sydney and to Irina, he'd always have to imagine, she had, at first, been simply a part of what she was told to do. Then she'd ran and Jack had had to face up to life without her. He found out who she really was while she watched him from afar. For so many years.  
  
Sydney had grown up and been dragged into their world of deceit and lies and now, when everything had finally pulled itself together: the fact that Irina had returned, that Jack had finally known who she was and had fallen in love with her in spite, or perhaps because, of it.  
  
Now that they knew each other fully and could admit it, the world was forcing them to return to the living hell that was reality. Was it any better to have loved and lost than to have never loved before? Jack was an expert, it happened over and over, with the same woman, just under different circumstances, and yet he wasn't sure.  
  
He could see her knuckles white on the wheel as they drove through a little country town, just over the speed limit. He wondered if she would run if he told her to and had to shake the idea out of his head. She kept looking at him and it was tearing him apart to know that not once had she looked him in the eye, her eyes only straying to his bandaged arm to make sure it wasn't bleeding through.  
  
Obviously the loss of blood was effecting his thinking because when they pulled into what looked to be a small shopping mall it took him a few moments to realize why.  
  
Irina looked over to him quickly and opened the door as she said, "I'll be back in fifteen minutes. I just need to get some things."  
  
He smiled at her, trying to lighten the mood with an obviously good-natured comment, "How do I know you won't run?" He really wasn't thinking straight.  
  
The look of horror that passed over her face was evident, he didn't think for a minute that she was actually considering it but that didn't mean the fantasy hadn't played itself out before her eyes in the last two hours. "Irina..." he tried to repair the damage but she just gave him a half-hearted smile and tilted her head.  
  
She shut the door and he watched as she hurried towards the big glass doors.  
  
Sydney and Vaughn had quickly packed their things up, filling their cases with the mixture of CIA guns and gadgets and holiday gear. The seams were close to splitting when they finally got them closed, via a combination of Vaughn wrestling with the zipper and Sydney sitting cross-legged on top.  
  
He breathed a sigh of relief as they shut the last one and collapsed to the ground, lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. A moment later, Sydney came to stand over him, hands on her hips, looking down with an amused look on her face.  
  
"I have some bad news," she informed him playfully.  
  
His forehead creased and he raised himself up onto his elbows. "What?" he asked.  
  
"My parents didn't think to pack up their stuff before being kidnapped." Sydney grinned as a drawn out groan escaped his lips.  
  
He looked at her to see if she was serious, "There is no way that I'm touching their stuff." Sydney quirked an eyebrow at him as if to ask why. "Hey, if Irina doesn't kill me for messing with their luggage, your dad most definitely will."  
  
He had a point, but it wasn't as though they could just leave it there and Irina had made it perfectly clear over the phone that they wouldn't be meeting them at the hotel, so they had to. "Oh well," she offered him a hand to help him up and he took it begrudgingly.  
  
Irina stood in front of the dirty mirror in the ladies-room of the mall, she looked over her messed up black hair, the dirt marks on her face and the tattered and brown hem of her dress. The woman at the department store had given her several weird looks and even more when she'd pulled out the Platinum credit card and now that she saw herself in all her glory, she understood why. Jack didn't look anywhere as dirty as this, probably because he'd been wearing darker clothes.  
  
She ran a hand through her hair, trying to straighten out the mess but it didn't work. She shook her head, her heart in turmoil. She quickly found a cubicle and got changed into the clothes she'd just purchased. A pair of black, form-fitting jeans, new black underwear and a sheer white shirt. It was still hot outside so she left the black denim jacket off. She completed the contrasting outfit with white boots and emerged to take a look at herself.  
  
She washed her face off and did her best to scrub off the black dirt stains. Finally, she had another shot at fixing her hair into a high plait but soon found a messy ponytail was more likely. She settled for that and emerged into the main shopping area with her bags.  
  
Back at the hotel, Syd and Vaughn had just managed to break into the room using a combination of CIA equipment and doorknob jiggling. Now, at last, they were faced with something they had not expected. Of all people on the face of the planet Earth, Jack and Irina should have been the most organized, obsessively clean people out there, but the room was anything but. Apparently the cleaning staff were also having trouble because, while they had attempted to make the bed, the selection of take out containers and clothes on and around the bed getting in their way, they had quickly given up, the rest of the room, too, had clothing strewn from one end to the other.  
  
How they had managed to make such a mess in so few days was beyond the two people standing, now, just inside the door. "Right," Vaughn said, making a point of looking at Sydney with an 'I told you so' look lodged firmly on his face. "Where do you think we should start?"  
  
Sydney turned to glare at him before making her way into the room and over to two suitcases that sat side by side, open and cluttered with bags from their shopping trip and the souvenirs that they'd needed to buy. "Here would be good place," she told him, turning to see him staring somewhat inadvertently at the room's centerpiece, the bed. "What?" she asked, slightly worried.  
  
She watched as Vaughn walked tentatively over and picked up something that had been obscured from her line of sight by the sheets. He picked up the delicate sheer slip with his forefinger and held it out for her to look at, a pointed look in his eyes. "Your mother has certainly been keeping herself amused."  
  
"You don't think they..." her voice trailed off, her mind not even wanting to think about it. "Forget it," she told him and disappeared quite promptly into the bathroom, feeling more comfortable about dealing with her parent's shampoo and toothbrushes.  
  
They both emerged from the suite fifteen minutes later, the four suitcases sitting beside each other, each one as full as was physically possible. Vaughn had called for help with the bags and a taxi was going to be there to collect them in five minutes. They saw the two young boys heading towards them and Vaughn quickly handed them a twenty dollar note each, happy to spend the CIA's money, and asked them to take the bags down to reception.  
  
Five minutes later they were sitting in the taxi, the bags stuffed in the trunk as the taxi driver informed them that the Avalon Airport was at least two and a half hours away.  
  
Sydney nodded and then turned to Michael. She sighed, "We'll be home soon," she would have expected to have been happy about that, but she didn't feel or sound it.  
  
"Yeah," Vaughn, obviously felt the same, "We will. It'll all be over." He breathed deeply, surprised that he was unhappy to see their trip down under end so quickly. "Get some sleep."  
  
Sydney looked up and smiled at him. She then closed her eyes, her head on his shoulder while his cheek rested on the top of her head, his hand moving up to draw mundane shapes on her back.  
  
Jack had been watching the glass doors like a hawk for over twenty minutes, when she finally emerged he almost didn't recognize her, it was only the confident gait and the enticing curves that caught his eye. She'd changed completely and was, at that moment, placing a new pair of dark sunglasses over her eyes.  
  
She was carrying several bags and as she carefully got into the car, she turned and dumped them in the back seat. She looked at Jack who looked back at her and held her gaze, she was surprised to read the fear and disappointment in his eyes, which, she was sure, was what he was seeing in hers.  
  
In that moment, it became clear to Jack: loving her was the greatest thing he'd ever done, whether or not he lost her again. She leaned over and embraced him, leaning into him as he leant into her. She felt the tears gathering and couldn't let go of him long enough to stop them from falling.  
  
Eventually they pulled apart and she immediately noticed the fresh blood soaking through his bandaged arm, she reached out to touch it cautiously, "I'm sorry." She didn't just mean for reopening the wound.  
  
"Don't be," he answered, "We'll deal with it." He seemed confident, she had no idea why.  
  
She nodded, happy they'd found some middle ground on which to stand. From the one bag she hadn't thrown onto the back seat, Irina pulled out a combination of bandages and disinfectant. She carefully peeled the shirt strips away from his arm and, without allowing him to prepare for the pain, used a cloth to swab the wound with the strong chemical. She heard the hiss that escaped his lips at the undoubtedly sharp pain that this was causing but it needed to be done. She continued until his skin was red and white, all traces of clotted blood and dirt erased. Of course now the blood was flowing again and she was quick to heavily bandage it back up, this time with proper sterile material.  
  
Leaning back to the bags, she pulled out a couple of shirts, both dark in color. She held them up and, picking the black one, Jack quickly put it on, with, of course, a little help from Irina. Again she turned back to the chair, this time, she pulled out a couple of bottles of water and an assortment of cold meats, breads and fruits, everything a hungry spy could ask for, she informed him.  
  
On first sight of the food, he suddenly realized just how long it had been since he'd last eaten, already it was beginning to grow dark outside and the picnic was just asking to be eaten. He grinned, she'd remembered everything, even, he noted on seeing the box, a new pair of shoes. 


	47. Chapter 47 Does it need anything more

Chapter 47  
  
They continued on their journey after a quick, but filling, lunch and, once on the road again, Jack took the liberty of calling Vaughn back, as promised, albeit a little late, and organizing with him where to meet them. The conversation was quick and, while Jack ached to hear his daughter's voice, he wasn't prepared to point that out. The drive, again, began as a quiet one, their stomachs full, Irina convinced Jack to try to sleep, telling him that if he didn't he was going to collapse and insisting he give his arm time to heal.  
  
Jack agreed after a few moments of stern looks and settled back to sleep. Of course, leaning back in a chair and shutting his eyes with the intent to sleep didn't actually mean that sleep was going to come, but Jack wasn't too upset that slumber was avoiding him. Instead he settled to watch Irina through narrowed eyes, memorizing the contours of her face and the way her chest rose and fell with each breath.  
  
Her hair bothered him; he'd never really seen her with hair any other than the long golden-brown locks that were naturally hers. The stiff blackness not suited to the tanned skin and brown eyes. But it was only temporary and would doubtless be washed away with chemicals on their return.  
  
Nothing else about her was different, the clothes she had chosen carefully suited not only to her current alias but also to herself, the contrast of white on black ironic to their situation. The sharply heeled boots and shapely black pants did everything right for her legs and he slowly followed the soft curve of her calf through the black denim.  
  
He glanced up and watched her eyes as they focussed on the busy roads. She glanced at him and he closed his eyes fully, adjusting his breathing in a moment to simulate sleep. With his eyes shut he missed Irina's roll of the eyes.  
  
After a few minutes of faux-sleep he cautiously opened his eyes to slits and went back to surveying the woman across from him. She'd moved and the loose white shirt was pulled tight against her, the faint discoloration telling Jack she was wearing a black bra underneath and for a second he wondered if it was new. Not that it mattered.  
  
He yearned to reach out and touch her, the smooth stomach and gentle curves of her hips just begging for attention. He sat still and let his eyes continue to sweep her body, he catalogued every tiny detail in his mind, the information, quite possibly, all he would have to live off for a very long time.  
  
Her movement startled him and he watched as she reached up to pull the dark glasses down over her eyes. He tilted his head, ever so slightly, and looked out the windscreen.  
  
He straightened in his seat quite obviously and Irina sighed, pulling the glasses back up onto her head. "You were going to watch me." Jack told her, more a statement than a question.  
  
She smiled, not looking towards him but directly ahead, "If you had been asleep, you wouldn't have noticed." She paused, seeing if he would dispute it, "You were watching me anyway."  
  
He smiled, his face showing only the slightest blush, "You knew?"  
  
"Of course. I enjoy it." A cryptic answer, but she was talking nonetheless.  
  
"You enjoy my watching you?" Jack asked.  
  
"No, I enjoy watching you watch me."  
  
"Ah..." Jack waited a moment, wondering what she was talking about. When she wasn't forthcoming with an answer he gave a slight shake of his head and brought his hand up to play with the hair just overhanging her ear, he felt her shudder immediately. "Why?"  
  
"Why what?" she asked, having difficulty concentrating on the road at that very moment and no longer bothering to try to follow the conversation, just happy that the talk meant that his hot breath continued to flow past her ear. She could feel herself leaning towards him, completely against her own will.  
  
"Why do you enjoy watching me watch you?" She had to concentrate on the words, she had to join them up to even begin to make sense of them and all the hard work almost fell apart as she felt him blow deliberately on the spot just below her ear.  
  
She managed to provide an answer, "Because, you always look so..." she paused, lost for a moment, "real."  
  
Jack laughed, his lips now vibrating lightly up against her neck. He understood what she meant; in the last few days, he'd seen the same look on her face as she watched him.  
  
"Jack..." he read his name as a warning mare than anything else She sighed heavily and angled an arm up to push him away. He smiled at her, his head cocked to the side, "Not now," she told him, though they both knew it wasn't because she didn't want it.  
  
He settled back in his seat, the pain in his arm now a dull throb, and looked out at the surroundings. A sign stating their arrival at Avalon Airport loomed up ahead and he relaxed as Irina managed to find a park near the private area of the airport as they had agreed to meet Sydney and Michael near the private plane gate. As the two climbed out of the four- wheel drive, the movement to grab the other's hand was mutual.  
  
Catching Jack's eye, Irina smiled reassuringly and together then made their way to the lounge area near what was labeled Gate One.  
  
They settled down and five minutes later were both feeling and looking restless. Despite feeling utterly exhausted, neither was about to fall asleep and the plane's departure was still over an hour away. No sign or Sydney and Vaughn either.  
  
Irina was the first to break, not that it was a competition, but nonetheless, she was suddenly on her feet, pulling a fifty dollar note from nowhere and saying, "I'm going to go and grab a coffee. Want one?"  
  
Jack smiled at her and nodded.  
  
"Why don't you give Sydney a ring, see how far off they are." She sounded awkward but, at the moment, Jack couldn't quite place his finger on the reason why. And then she was gone, stalking off towards the small café.  
  
Jack shook his head, over-whelmed by her complexity, and then pulled out the mobile phone they'd procured from the car and dialing the memorized number.  
  
The phone was answered quickly and Vaughn's voice was hushed, "Vaughn," he stated, the common CIA habit still unbroken.  
  
"Vaughn, it's Jack. How far off are you?" he demanded.  
  
"Hold on," Jack heard a muffled exchange and then he was back, "About forty minutes. You're there already?"  
  
Jack replied, "Yes, we just arrived, we're in the lounge as agreed on."  
  
"Good, how's the arm?" Vaughn asked, true concern in his voice.  
  
"It's fine," Jack told him, the blunt answer softened by the friendly tone. "Just a flesh wound."  
  
"Right," an awkward silence followed, though only for a second. "I'll see you soon then." The line went dead and Jack flipped the phone shut.  
  
He looked up to see Irina headed back towards him with two polystyrene cups of steaming coffee. She placed them down on the table in front on them, not bothering to take the lid off her own. "So?" she asked.  
  
The curious uncertainty still hanging about her. He ignored his coffee and answered her, "Forty minutes."  
  
"Hmmm..." her response was neutral.  
  
"What?" Jack asked.  
  
She looked at him, her eyes narrowed, her mind ticking over and he could see she was debating an issue. He wondered what it was and was given an answer when she approached him directly. "I need to tell you something...before this is all over."  
  
His own eyes narrowed but he made no comment. "We need to find somewhere more...private." He raised an eyebrow, obviously playful in the way he had so often been twenty years ago, but she shook her head, "No, I just...I need to feel secure when I say this."  
  
Jack had a good idea of what she was about to say, he knew the enormity of it, but he still had to hear it, no matter how many times she said it, he would always have to hear it.  
  
He nodded and stood up, grabbing her hand and pulling her after him, their coffees forgotten.  
  
They found a quiet corner, away from the gate, somewhere in between the private and the public areas, the check-ins shut and not a person in sight. The corner was out of sight mostly anyway, and a decorative plastic garden obscured them from view further. Someone who was actually looking for them would have had trouble seeing them.  
  
They stopped, their eyes locking and Irina grabbed the other hand, aware that too much movement would send sharp shots of pain up his arm. She took a breath. Jack waited.  
  
"I know I've said it," she began, her voice starting strong and full, but the slight shake still there, "But, with us going home, I have to make sure you understand." Jack remained faceless, his features giving nothing away. He wanted to interrupt, to tell her he understood, but he knew she needed to explain herself.  
  
"Jack, no matter what, you have to know. I love you, more than anything else, ever." His lips broke into a reassuring smile and his hands moved up to trace patterns on her hips. "Promise me."  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
Her voice dropped and he had to strain to hear her, "Promise me you'll keep going, regardless." He wasn't sure he quite understood her, but he nodded and almost immediately she slid her arms around his neck, dragging his lips to hers. The kiss was soft, measured by both to see what the other expected. Jack would have liked to draw it out, take his time, but her smell was strangely overpowering.  
  
The closest either had come to a shower in the last forty-eight hours was the hot spring and the smell of sweat and musky dirtiness surrounded her lithe body. As she pulled back for a breath of air, her hands skimming down to his waist, he buried his lips in the crook of her neck, kissing tentatively the salty, soft skin there.  
  
Involuntarily, Irina let a hand stray into Jack's hair, surprised at both his and her eagerness. He had to admire her for her ability to coerce him into anything. Briefly, his lips moving to her shoulder, fingers deftly moving away the material, he wondered how many men had been brought to their knees before the goddess in front of him.  
  
She shuddered under his lips and he was brought back to reality. Her other hand, he could feel, had worked beneath his shirt and was now lying on his back, urging him on. Too much was the musky sent and searing heat that radiated from her, that he bit down at the edge of her shoulder, determined to mark her as his own, not caring that it might be his only chance, just knowing it was a chance. She moaned in a surreal mixture of pleasure and pain and he pulled back in a vague bid to regain control and to blow on the already bruising skin.  
  
Jack brought his lips back to hers for a hungrier, though still soft and searching, kiss. She moaned into his mouth as his hands found her hips and in an animalistic moment pulled her into him roughly, their bodies locking together, neither ever wanting to let go. Despite the overwhelming feeling, Irina managed to angle her head back, slightly shocked, but definitely not upset, by his actions, his fingers now digging into the small of her back, another artistic array of bruises she would cherish.  
  
"You don't want to think this through?" Irina had to ask, it was that tiny voice at the back of her mind that couldn't believe that anyone could ever make her feel this good, this free, especially without the underlying hatred she had feared for so long.  
  
"Irina," he put a certain emphasis on the word, something he had learnt, no doubt, off her, "If I think about this, instead of doing this, for one more second, I swear to God, I'll - " It was enough and she wasn't about to waste any more time, they didn't have long. She slammed into him, hips and mouths melding together as she forced him to open his mouth to her. She remembered the taste, not just from their incident at the hot spring but from years ago when she'd let her instincts overcome her head and let go of herself. He tasted like Jack, like rain almost.  
  
Substantially shocked when he'd been cut off mid-sentence, but not regretting her decision, Jack welcomed her rough attack on his lips and the chance to explore her mouth, as vigorous as she was. Immediately the coffee on her tongue was tangible. Apparently she'd had a sip on her way back to the lounge.  
  
He let out a painful gasp as she grabbed at his arm. A flesh wound it might have been but it still stung with a vengeance. Irina pulled away the moment she heard him. The severe look of worry already on her face as she tentatively asked him if he was okay. He nodded, smiling slightly, as the pain ebbed away.  
  
"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."  
  
He didn't remember ever having seen her is such a state and, inane though it may have been, he found the mixture of worry and a definite desire, rather sexy. He moved back towards her, his lips skimming her jaw-line before joining with her mouth again, their instincts perfectly matching each other as their mouths opened simultaneously.  
  
He felt, rather than heard, her moan into his mouth as one of his hands snaked around to her stomach, each of his fingers, rippling over the taunt abdomen he had always wondered at, and now, even more so. Jack, taking control, or what he told himself was control; let his hand climb further, the fingers moving over each rib, his thumb skimming over the dip between the two sides of her rib cage.  
  
Irina was loosing control, and her head lolled back the moment Jack let his lips leave hers to work at her throat. His hand, warm and rough on her skin was moving, ever so slowly, up over her ribs, taking each inch into consideration as his fingers worked their magic. She moaned again as his forefinger found the delicate skin just below her right breast and knew that if he moved any higher he was going to encounter material.  
  
His lips distracted her from the thought as he ran his teeth over the shoulder he had managed to expose, she shuddered and angled his head back towards her with both hands, twice she kissed him on the lips, chastely, ironic though it was, and then hard and coarsely. Jack pulled back, eager to continue, but wanting a breath. He let his fingers move, expertly, just under the soft material of the bra and again she moaned.  
  
"I love you," he murmured against the crook of her neck, where his head now rested, his fingers content to play at the soft skin he'd found.  
  
"I know," she grinned, her voice a rasp and heavy with lust, "But you have to remember your promise."  
  
Jack searched his memory banks which were increasingly filled with visions of the woman he had up against the wall, "To keep going?"  
  
She nodded, her hair, black though it might be, still playing against his forehead, "What did you mean by that?" he asked.  
  
It took a moment for him to realize that she'd become very still. When he did, he raised his eyes to look at the bemused expression on Irina's face. She stared at him for a moment before answering his question, her voice still rasping, but serious now, "When they put me back in the cell. I don't want you to wait. Move on." Jack's expression made it perfectly clear he wasn't allowing himself to understand her. "You can't live life loving someone you can't have." 


	48. ummmm

Chapter 48  
  
He stared at her, the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach hurting more than the bullet wound ever had. "I want you to find someone else." Her words hit him like a brick wall and immediately his hands had returned to his sides.  
  
"No," he said flatly.  
  
"Jack," she sounded as though she had truly believed he would consider it an option. That he would forget her once back in America and find himself another woman. And now she was standing in front of him, telling him she loved him and allowing her body to agree with her words when all she was thinking about was that when they returned, he would go and sleep with someone else.  
  
She thought it was that easy. She thought, that if that happened, she could feel betrayed and that would be better? Jack wondered just how he had missed such a major and crucial belief. How dare she, how could she ever believe that he could? He stared at her harder, as though eventually his eyes would see through her and everything she'd just said would never have happened.  
  
But she was still there, and the pleading look on her face wasn't going anywhere either. Jack felt the familiar adrenaline rush through his body as he recognized the sharp point of anger thrust itself into him. How could she be so selfish as to try to escape all this?  
  
Apparently she hadn't noticed the anger in Jack, her eyes were borderline on teary and her hands moved slowly up to cup his face, the pleading on her face palpable. "Jack..." his name again, her shaky voice running havoc with his mind.  
  
He recoiled though, disgusted with her easy ability to sleep with a man and then move on because it was obvious that she expected him to be able to do it. "Don't you dare," he spat back, his hand raising between them, fingers outstretched in a symbolic gesture as he tried to create distance.  
  
Her face morphed, first to confusion, and then to bewilderment. The slight difference between the two creating the anger that would fuel her fight. Still she wasn't quite sure what she was up against: "Don't I dare what?"  
  
"Try to justify this." He stared at her, his eyes like daggers as the disgust on his face sliced deep. "I don't care if it doesn't mean anything, but don't you dare try to justify this. Not to me."  
  
She cocked her head to the side, "Jack, you do not want to argue with me," it was a warning and blatantly so but Jack ignored it, stepping closed, doing his best to loom over her. She tilted her head back to stare at him as he moved forward, his face above hers. "Jack..." his last warning.  
  
"You've ruined my life, completely, I can never, ever, live life properly again. Not like I could before I met you. And yet, I still manage to love you. Yet you have the audacity to tell me to go and f somebody else. How can you even think -" He was cut off as her hand made sharp, fast contact with his cheek. He heard his neck crack as his head shot to the side, the hit far more powerful than he could have imagined.  
  
He tasted blood in his mouth and spat it on the ground. He looked up to see the mixture of venom and shock on Irina's face as he pushed her roughly against the wall, his hands holding her there as they grasped her upper arms. "b."  
  
"You asked for it." She retorted quickly. "How dare I??" she stressed the last word, leaning towards him while still pinned to the wall. "I only wanted to see you happy," she spat, "But obviously, you're not half the man I thought you were. How dare you!"  
  
He glared at her, his face inches from hers, as his fingers squeezed tighter, the throb of his arm ignored, "I've done nothing except act the fool you needed me to be."  
  
The rage that flickered in her eyes scared him, but not enough to make him back down. "I don't know your endgame, and, for the last few days, I didn't think you had one. But this...you've made it obvious you feel so little for me, you don't care what I do."  
  
She struggled against him, trying to get away by wriggling free of his vice- like grip. "Let me go," she forced out from between her teeth, her hands coming up to grasp his arms, trying to pull his hands away from her shoulders.  
  
"Over my dead body," he spat back, noting her fingernails almost ripping into his skin where she was working harder and harder at yanking her arms away.  
  
The glare she threw at him was deadly and, as her nails began to slice into him, drawing blood, he was faced with two choices; either retaliate or give in. Choosing the former, he let go on her shoulders and, in the blink of an eye, giving her no time to react, had her wrists pinned above her head, his hands rough and uncaring against them as he moved closer in the hope she'd have less space to maneuver. "Stop trying to run."  
  
Instantly, she stopped moving, her eyes grabbing his in a startled stare and her body going rigid against his. "You think I'm going to run?" she asked, voice harsh and with a blatantly livid edge to it.  
  
"Why the hell else would you be trying to escape?" he threw back, his body still holding her against the wall, aware that she was doing her best to keep every inch of herself away from him.  
  
"You bastard," she answered, and for a second he wondered if that was the answer. "You think, after everything we just went through, I'd still try to run?" Through the outraged cloud of passion inhabiting her mind, she saw his brow furrow and would have hit him again, had her hands been accessible. "What did you think? That I was lying, this whole time?"  
  
Mistakenly, she took the sudden eye contact and comprehension that crossed his features as a yes and her anger doubled. Her words, coming out hard and unyielding, uncompromising and emotionless except for the passion that Jack knew lay just beneath the surface. "You were lying, weren't you? And I believed you, you didn't trust me, but you needed me to trust you so you tricked me and now that we're going back it doesn't matter if I know or not. It doesn't matter that I know that you used me because you don't give a s and never will."  
  
She paused to take a breath, hell-bent on continuing with her tirade, and would have, had she not been cut off by Jack's mouth as he lunged towards her, closing the few centimeters between them with crushing force and not waiting for her to respond but instead prying her lips apart with his own and swiftly allowing a hand to leave her wrists. His remaining hand, with all fingers splayed apart, still holding her place; while the other moved down to angle her head against his granting his tongue the greatest possible access.  
  
Irina had little time to react and her first instinct was to ignore the fact that seconds ago she had wanted to kill him and instead, just let him take as much of her as he wanted. This was the only thing that stopped her from wrenching her hands free, now that she was able, and knocking him unconscious. Of course, her second instinct, which was to do exactly that, entered her mind a second later.  
  
Jack knew he'd taken too long to back off the moment he felt her move. Only thirty seconds ago, he'd known he was going to have to kiss her. The passion and sudden realization that they were arguing over very little forced him to kiss her, it was...she was...unavoidable. But, with only a hand keeping her fists at bay and most of his body close enough to sustain serious damage, he had warned himself that if he wasn't a good ten feet away from her when she realized he'd kissed her, he was going to sustain that very serious damage.  
  
And now, the feeling of her teeth running over his tongue brought him hurtling back to reality and, as he moved back, pain-stakingly slowly, both hands now on her wrists again, he hoped to God she wasn't thinking about biting his tongue off for his misbehavior. Though he may have deserved it, he realized. Withdrawing to a point where he was no longer in danger of being a mute for the rest of his life, he stopped.  
  
She had to wonder, his lips only inches from hers, his hot breath still on her face, what was going on inside his head. She noted with some anger that her wrists were once again pinned above her and asked, not surprised that her voice came out low and raspy, "Are you going to let me go?"  
  
His answer was quick and simple, his voice hoarse like hers but playful as well, "Never." Her eyes narrowed at his reply but his lips were pursed and he had obviously decided not to speak.  
  
"I'd advise you to let me go," she told him with force behind her words and her hands becoming fists.  
  
He shook his head slightly, "No." The eye contact was beginning to get to her and she angled her chin up in a show of defiance.  
  
For a split second she felt a soft pair lips, hot and wet, on the side of her neck, teeth scrapping over the tender skin as she recognized the mistake she'd made in raising her chin. Recovering from the shock quicker this time she quickly snapped her head back down, expecting her chin to make contact with Jack's cheek and, quite possibly, break it.  
  
Instead, she made contact with nothing but thin air. She narrowed her eyes and glared at the triumphant smile before her. "Don't do that again," she warned him.  
  
He ignored her and asked, his voice heavy with passion that he was doing his best to hold back, "What exactly are we arguing about?"  
  
Reviews if you may, i do love them dearly and I'll need something to get me out of bed tomorrow. 


	49. bum bum bum

Chapter 49  
  
In no position to dispute the premise of the question, she answered, her words spiteful even though the uncertainty was beginning to form. "You've been using me. And for a mission nonetheless. I think that's grounds for an argument."  
  
"No, I wasn't using you," he wasn't defending himself, so much that he was trying to put her into a position where she could no longer provide answers to his questions. "What are you really upset about?"  
  
"You never make it easy do you Jack?" he noticed the change in tone as she slipped into the defensive.  
  
"Make what easy?"  
  
She paused, as though thinking it over, but he doubted she was, then she replied, "Life."  
  
A Stalemate.  
  
They stared at each other, Jack's arms beginning to ache as he forced himself to continue holding Irina's hands above her head. He was sure that if he let his concentration, or his grip, slip for just a moment, she'd take control, and that was something he didn't want to think about.  
  
Irina looked back into his eyes with defiance and arrogance. She wasn't going to speak, she wasn't going to move, she wasn't going to give him the chance to make another move and, eventually, he'd have to start over. Hopefully, it would be the instant that Sydney and Vaughn turned up. If all went to the haphazard plan in her head, they'd walk right past and Irina would be able to provide the excuse for moving away. But how much longer was she going to have to endure the agony of both Jack being so close and her resolve, though ever decaying, to believe he had been using her.  
  
She blinked and opened her eyes in time to see Jack blink then the two way stare return, a small smile playing about his lips. Keeping her face as blank as she could manage, she blinked again and, once more, saw Jack blink only an instant after her. Obviously, this was a game to him.  
  
Taking an undetectable breath, she blinked again however upon opening her eyes she didn't look at Jack. Her eyes were to the clock and she quickly read the time. It could only be another fifteen minutes until her daughter's arrival. That was all she had to hold on for.  
  
Everyone knew that the mind was predisposed toward changing pattern on the third attempt. Everyone. It was one of the first things you were taught in CIA training because enemies apparently used it. Jack had found out that this wasn't rarely true and enemies were actually predisposed to being paranoid and forgoing what their mind wanted and changing their patterns on the second or forth attempt.  
  
But Irina had done what he wanted. Once, twice she had blinked and he had followed, determined to drag her into another little game but on the third he didn't blink and watched as her eyes quickly sought out the nearest clock. This all happened in an instant and, as Jack saw another opening; he didn't have the time, nor the will power, to think about it.  
  
With her head turned ever so slightly, Jack's movement was fast enough for her to miss entirely. Again, she felt the same lips on her skin, this time, along her jawbone as his tongue traced a quick, wet line up to the tender skin behind her ear.  
  
There he hovered, pulling back so that his lips were a mere millimeter away and his breath still hot enough to burn. Frozen, the two of them waited, each wanting the other to provide explanation, and neither winning.  
  
After what had felt like an eternity, Jack hadn't been throttled and the woman before him seemed to have stopped breathing, he let his lips move back to the skin he cherished, his hands remaining on her wrists but his lips and teeth persuading her towards the edge as he moved down her neck, following the muscle down to her shoulder. He bit down lightly and then moved across, knowing he shouldn't, knowing she could kill him with a well- aimed kick, but going ahead nevertheless.  
  
As his teeth gently scrapped across her collarbone, Irina couldn't help but let her head loll back to rest on the wall behind her. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself that she hated him, her body was always going to point out the blatantly obvious. She had to bite her own lip to stop the moan as she felt Jack's tongue sliding down to where his teeth had marked her own only minutes before. He pulled back, blowing on it, letting his eyes move up to hers.  
  
Despite what she later claimed she was feeling, the look of raw desire in her eyes was unmistakable and the moment's eye contact she shared with Jack told her it was mutual. His lips crushed down on hers and she felt his hands release her wrists. Losing most, if not all control, her hands quickly found his hair, immersing themselves in the salt and pepper curls.  
  
His hands, now free as well, moved almost as fast, one to the small of Irina's back where he pulled her closer to him, trying to pull just one more inch of skin onto his. The other found her black ponytail and made short work of pulling the tie free, letting the straightened locks fall around her face.  
  
The kiss was passionate and aggressive. Both of them fighting to gain dominance and cast the other into submission, not so much because it was what they wanted but because it was what made it fun. With a jolt, Jack felt Irina's leg hook up around his. The pain that the heel of her boot was causing to the back of his knee was ignored as every inch of his body caught fire again, his body crushed up against hers as she drew him even closer with her powerful limbs.  
  
Briefly, he wondered how she was still managing to fill her lungs with air, the wall and him sandwiching her into an ever tighter space. Pulling back for another mouth full of air, they locked eyes and shared a hasty smirk before simultaneously going back for more.  
  
Addictive, was the only word for it, and to Jack, at that moment, there was no evident reason for stopping. Irina, on the other hand, saw one and with force pulled away, her hands realigning themselves, one to the nape of his neck, her long fingers winding around to his chin, and the other to his shoulder. Bringing her lips to the dip between his collarbones, she placed feather light kiss up to the peak of his chin and then scrapped her teeth down to the crook of his neck.  
  
Once there, her teeth bit down, hard enough to scratch at the skin and cause, unseen, another bruise to form. She moved back in time to find Jack reacting accordingly, her hands already above her head and their breath mingling between them, short and labored.  
  
Her bite, it seemed, had been too sharp for Jack to consider it tender. And he was right in assuming so. Slumping towards her, by no means angry, but realizing that they had to talk before she caused him serious harm, he placed a feather-light kiss just below her ear and moved back, letting her arms flop to her sides, his reflex no longer required. "I wasn't using you."  
  
Underneath the rough, and still obviously hungry tones, his voice was so sincere that she almost believed him without question. He looked a beaten man and stood stoic before her. "I swear on our daughter's life, I wasn't using you."  
  
It was the one thing she had never questioned, his love for Sydney. It brought the uncertainty crashing down, and with it, anger. "Then what?" her voice came out harsher than she had planned, but it would have to do.  
  
His face showed her the confusion and the bewilderment he was feeling and, as his shoulders slumped she waited patiently for an answer. He looked up at her, taking another step back, a good meter between them, "You can't possibly expect me to go back to living as though you were dead."  
  
She watched him carefully, not sure what the answer had to do with the question.  
  
He continued, "Not after all of this. How could you expect me to do that?"  
  
Her brow dipped as she tried to piece together the pieces of the puzzle. What exactly had caused the argument?  
  
Jack saw that the realization was dawning on her and he went on, "I thought, incorrectly, that the only way you could expect me to be capable of moving on was if you hadn't experienced what I had. If you were basing your expectations on what you knew you would have been capable of in my position." His words weren't coming out particularly eloquently, "I thought you were saying it was just a meaningless fling." 


	50. meeting up

I know, I know, its been a while, but not really that long. Only like three months, which is actually good for me, sort of. Anyway, here's my excuse. First of all I had mid year exams. Second of all I had millions of assessment tasks and this being my final year I couldn't really not do them. Third, I really needed to spend some time with friends and lastly, I've been in a National Park on holiday for the last week. But now I am back with an update, albeit a small update, but still an update.  
  
Thank you for all being patient with me, I really do appreciate you sticking with me and reviewing all the time. They really are the main reason I write. For anyone interested, I'm writing for NCIS now as well. Only two little ficlet things, but if you watch NCIS you might want to check them out the addy is below:  
  
NCIS Fic  
  
Chapter 50  
  
Her eyes widened in comprehension. "A meaningless fling?" He couldn't tell if her voice was angry or just shocked. "How could you think that?"  
  
He answered her quickly, hoping to quell the anger in her before it became unmanageable, "Because I was being defensive. If this really did mean nothing to you...Do you have any idea what that would do to me?"  
  
Her eyes dropped in understanding. He stepped back, giving her space to breathe and letting his skin slip away from hers. She was no longer pinned against the wall, she could run if she wanted to but they both knew she wouldn't. There was a short, tension-filled silence as both Jack and Irina wondered what was to happen next. In only a few minutes everything in their lives that they held true and good had slid away, out of control and then, just as easily, back into place.  
  
Irina was the first to speak, her voice soft and accented, "We have to stop arguing."  
  
Jack smirked at her, accepting the peace offering with a light-hearted quip, "I dunno, it has its perks." His hands rose, first to the slightly purple mark on her collarbone and then back down to her hips where he let his thumbs slip under the material to glide affectionately over the smooth skin. Irina smiled at him, her teeth glinting between her lips as her eyes shone.  
  
"Come here," she whispered, almost inaudibly and in an instant Jack was up against her, pressing his lips tenderly to hers in a kiss of promise and future.  
  
He leaned back, determined to say what he had to say, "When we get back to the US..." he trailed off and was mildly surprised when she pulled him to her and kissed him again, forcing whatever words he wanted to speak back into his throat.  
  
"Later we'll talk...on the plane," she told him, and quickly went back to exploring his mouth.  
  
It was only a few minutes after that the sound of two familiar voices drifted over to them and they slowly detached, moving to stand beside each other, breathing heavily while they fixed each other's hair and Irina tried to wipe the glow from her husband's face, all the while knowing that she had the same amber tint. Together they listened to the conversation that was going on in the near deserted waiting lounge which sat just beyond the dense plastic garden that had hidden their activities so well from the prying eyes of the few passers by.  
  
It was Sydney that spoke, "They've got to be here somewhere."  
  
Vaughn was wandering along beside her, their hands clasped together, looking perfectly happy as the epitome of young love. "They might be anywhere...doing anything," he said. Irina and Jack exchanged smirks while their daughter tried her best to look scandalized. "We should just wait in the lounge for them to find us. That would be best."  
  
Sydney grinned back at him, clearly playing at his fear of being caught, "Yes, but they might find us anywhere, doing anything."  
  
Vaughn pulled a face that basically told her he didn't plan on being caught doing any such thing by her parents any time soon followed by a sentence whispered in her ear that saw Sydney's face tint red for a few seconds and the conversation stopped.  
  
After several minutes, in which her face regained its natural color, she continued to look around, her hand slipping from Vaughn's and placed on her hip and she stated, a little louder than necessary, "Well obviously we're not going to find them." When nothing happened, apparently she expected them to appear out of nowhere, she continued, "Care to join me in a dark corner Michael?"  
  
It was now Vaughn's turn to look scandalized as he realized that Sydney was baiting her father out of hiding and quickly turned around looking for any emerging threats and the nearest exits simultaneously.  
  
Irina could only roll her eyes to Sydney as she was led out from behind the garden by a hasty Jack who was managing to look startlingly violent even with his arm immobilized. Vaughn managed to put Sydney between himself and the approaching couple, apparently ready to sacrifice the love of his life to avoid the wrath of Jack. This, Irina could understand but chose to save the poor agent from certain death with a quick pinch to Jack's arm and a glare that spoke volumes.  
  
Jack, realizing very quickly what would happen if he said anything wrong forced a smile and said a curt, "Hello."  
  
Irina rolled her eyes again, grinning from ear to ear as Sydney surveyed her father's bandaged arm. She looked supremely worried as she ooed and ared over it, eventually asking him, "How bad is it?"  
  
He smiled, looking away from Vaughn for the first time, "I'll live." In actual fact it was the first time he'd remembered the arm in a half-hour, Irina certainly provided an adequate distraction.  
  
Vaughn, desperate to get moving, looked to his watch and then back to Irina, "So, what exactly is the plan here?"  
  
Thank you all for reading, please review, I love reading them. 


End file.
